Feb 5, 2026, 1:36 p.mFeb 5, 2026, 1:36 p.m
Russia has declared an employee of the German embassy in Moscow persona non grata after expelling one of its own diplomats from Berlin.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced in Moscow that the ambassador’s representative had been summoned and informed about it. Accordingly, an employee of the German embassy in Moscow was declared persona non grata.
Embassy of the Russian Federation in Berlin.Image: DPA
According to the ministry, Russia protested against the German government’s decision on January 22 to expel an employee of the Embassy of the Russian Federation. Moscow had rejected the German espionage allegations against the diplomat.
“We view the measures taken by the German side as a cheap provocation aimed at discrediting the Russian diplomatic mission in the Federal Republic of Germany,” the ministry in Moscow said. The Russian reaction is a “symmetrical response”. Germany alone bears “full responsibility for the new escalation in bilateral relations.”
Reaction from Germany
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul criticized the expulsion. “The expulsion of a German diplomat from Russia has no factual basis and is completely unacceptable,” said the Christian Democrat in the capital Bandar Seri Begawan on the sidelines of a visit to the Southeast Asian Sultanate of Brunei.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.Image: EPA AAP
The expelled employee is a member of the embassy’s military attaché staff, said Wadephul.
“While our diplomats abide by law and order, Russia relies on escalation and espionage under the guise of diplomacy,” Wadephul added. Russia’s renewed unfriendly act shows once again: “Russia relies on unjustified methods of retaliation instead of diplomacy.”
The German government will continue to react decisively to such Russian security-threatening activities in the future. Berlin reserves the right to take further measures.
This happened before
The Foreign Office had previously summoned the Russian ambassador in Berlin and informed him that an employee of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, accredited as a diplomat, who had carried out espionage in Germany, had been declared persona non grata with immediate effect. According to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), it is the deputy Russian military attaché.
The Foreign Office also said that the embassy employee must “leave Germany immediately”. And: “The ambassador was emphatically informed on behalf of the Foreign Minister that espionage activities in Germany will not be tolerated by the Federal Republic of Germany and have consequences.” (sda/dpa)