On Wednesday, Russia ordered the expulsion of seven diplomats from Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia due to the expulsion of Russian envoys over Czech accusations that Russian intelligence was behind a deadly 2014 depot blast. Moscow and Prague are currently engaged in their biggest display of tensions since the end of the Communist era, which has spiraled into a series of intense diplomatic disputes with other EU and NATO countries. Russia’s foreign ministries gave the diplomats one week to exit the country.
Russia accused the four targeted countries of showing solidarity with the Czech Republic in their claims, which Russia has disputed. The Czech Republic ordered most Russian diplomatic staff to exit the country last week. On Wednesday, Bulgaria announced that prosecutors were collecting evidence on the possible involvement of six Russian intelligence personnel in four explosions occurring from 2011 to 2020. The blasts occurred at Bulgarian arms depots that were storing ammunition destined for export to Ukraine. Russia has dismissed all accusations.
Read More: Bulgaria expels Russian diplomat over arms depot blasts
