MOSCOW, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Friday expelled five employees of the Croatian embassy here in a retaliatory move.
The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Croatian ambassador to Russia and protested against "the groundless attempts of the Croatian authorities to blame Russia for war crimes in Ukraine" and the Croatian military assistance to Ukraine.
In response to Zagreb's decision to reduce the staff number of the Russian diplomatic mission, the ministry declared five employees of the Croatian Embassy in Moscow "persona non grata."
On April 11, Croatia announced the expulsion of 18 diplomats and six members of the administrative and technical staff of the Russian embassy in Zagreb, citing the Russian military operation in Ukraine as the reason. ■