The building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. File photoMOSCOW, April 11Russia will respond appropriately to the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats and six embassy staff, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RIA Novosti. «Russia will give an appropriate response,» she said.< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/65c3b540b65c53d2e806e0362039c718.jpg" />The expulsions of Russian diplomats close the window of relations, Peskov said. Earlier, the Croatian Foreign Ministry announced that it was expelling 18 diplomats and six administrative and technical employees of the Russian embassy from the country. Earlier, Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlich-Radman said that Zagreb would send several Russian diplomats in connection with the events in Ukraine. Zagreb will be reduced to the level of the Croatian embassy in Moscow and a demand will be made that 18 diplomats and six members of the administrative and technical staff (24 employees in total) of the Russian embassy leave Croatia,» the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at the military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, as of March 25, they have completed the main tasks of the first stage — they have significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
