Tokyo. File photoTOKYO, Apr 20 Eight Russian diplomats may leave Japan around noon on Wednesday, after official Tokyo decided in April to expel a number of employees of the Russian embassy and the Russian trade mission, NHK reports. The diplomats are expected to leave Tokyo's Haneda Airport around noon on a plane chartered by Russia. «According to an informed source, these eight people were allegedly involved in the collection of information, among them were middle-level employees,» the channel said. Japan announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats on April 8. As Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the time, the Japanese government made a thorough assessment of the situation before making this decision, and this measure is a consequence of the current situation in Ukraine. » />Declared persona non grata, Russian diplomats left AustriaRussia 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.» bloody crimes against civilians» of Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and, on March 25, they completed the main tasks of the first stage — they significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
