Russia vows harsh response to Poland’s expulsion of diplomats

Russian officials vowed a hurtful response after Poland decided to expel 45 diplomats from the country, Reuters reported. 

Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday called Poland’s move “a conscious step towards the final destruction of bilateral relations, the dismantling of which our Polish ‘partners’ have been systematically carrying out for a long time.” 

“Russia will not leave this hostile attack without a response, which will make Polish provocateurs think and will hurt them,” Russia’s foreign ministry added, according to the wire service. 

Poland announced on Wednesday that it has expelled Russian diplomats from the country on suspicion of working for the Russian intelligence service, Reuters reported.

Russia’s Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev said the country also blocked the embassy’s bank accounts because they could be used for money-laundering or terrorist finance, according to Reuters. 

In a statement, Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki didn’t offer details of the actions, adding that he could only “say in general terms that we have been dealing with the freezing of funds of the Russian Federation.”

The news from the two countries comes amid Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine, which has sparked a humanitarian crisis. Russian military attacks on Ukrainian cities have prompted refugees to pour over the country’s borders into neighboring countries like Poland.