Spain has announced that it will soon reopen its embassy in Kyiv as it is the latest country to return its diplomats to the Ukrainian capital following the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced this on Monday, April 18, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
“We will reopen the Spanish Embassy in Kyiv in Ukraine in the near future, in the coming days, as another evidence of the commitment of the Spanish government, Spanish society, the people of Ukraine,” Sanchez said in this regard.
Since the beginning of the war, Spain has supported Ukraine by providing military equipment, humanitarian aid, and hosting Ukrainian refugees.
Prime Minister Sanchez also said that between the time of the Russian invasion and April 9, about 110,000 Ukrainian citizens fled the war had arrived in Spain.
In addition, on April 6, Spanish authorities announced the expulsion of about 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff after a mass grave was discovered in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Germany, France and Lithuania are also among the countries that have imposed restrictions on Russian diplomats.
On April 5, the German and French governments expelled several Russian diplomats in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has killed thousands to date.
In this regard, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that the reason for the expulsion of 40 employees of the Russian embassy was messages from Bucha, where a dozen civilians were tortured and killed.
“That’s why today the government decided to declare undesirable a significant number of employees of the Russian embassy who worked every day here in Germany, against our freedom, against the cohesion of our society,” she added.
In addition, according to the press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France also expelled some Russian diplomats, because their activities do not correspond to the country’s security interests.
On the other hand, the Lithuanian government fired the Russian ambassador and warned that it would soon close the Russian embassy.
In addition, Russian representatives denied all these accusations, adding that the massacres in the Ukrainian city of Bucha could have been staged, citing the UK.
In response, Moscow called the German decision “unfriendly” and warned that it would worsen relations between the two countries.