Posted on 08/04/2023 5:42:58 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
Moldova says it will expel 45 Russian diplomats and other embassy staff because of their "unfriendly actions".
The total will be cut to just 25 - a figure closer to the number Moldova has at its Moscow embassy.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 the Moldovan government has accused Moscow of spying and backing opposition groups.
Russia condemned the expulsion and said it would "not go unanswered".
On Tuesday, Moldova's foreign ministry voiced concern about a media report on new surveillance equipment installed on the Russian embassy roof and a neighbouring building used by Russia. The report came from Russian investigative media site Insider and Moldova's Journal TV channel.
Announcing the expulsion on Wednesday, the ministry said it was prompted by "ongoing tensions and unfriendly actions" and the Russians would have to leave by 15 August.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Everywhere around the world it is understood that diplomats channel information back to their home countries. That's their job, whether it's openly acknowledged or not.
*The total will be cut to just 25*
They should cut it to zero. Remember NATO was pushed eastward. It was voluntary. Do you think Sweden and Finland ‘want in’ on the action? They know the Russians better than we do. Let them in as long as they agree to spend 5% of GDP on defense to make up for Germany. Let them sort out their discrepancies.
Has Putin died of cancer yet?
How’s that Great Counter-offensive going, Charlie Brown?
What’s there to spy on in Moldavia? (no, I didn’t read the article)
“Since the start of the so-called ‘offensive,’ the Ukrainian armed forces lost over 43,000 soldiers in June-July. This number does not include the injured, who were evacuated to hospitals in Ukraine and abroad, foreign mercenaries as well as the soldiers that were neutralized in long-range high-precision strikes in rear areas,” the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed. Gateway had estimated Ukrainian losses at 46.800, based on previous MoD figures.
“Over four thousand nine hundred units of various AFU weapons have been destroyed on the line of contact, including 26 aircraft, 9 helicopters, 1,831 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, including 25 German-manufactured Leopard tanks, 7 French AMX wheeled tanks and 21 U.S.-manufactured Bradley IFVs. In addition, the enemy losses were 747 field artillery pieces and mortars, including 76 U.S.-manufactured M777 artillery systems, as well as 84 self-propelled artillery systems from Poland, the United States, France and Germany”, the Russian ministry claimed.
Next step: NATO application.
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