Russia's 'Revenge' Continues, 5 Croatian Diplomats Expelled

JAKARTA - Russia is taking revenge again after a number of their diplomats were expelled from several countries. This time, it was Croatian diplomats who were victims.

On April 11, Croatia expelled 18 Russian diplomats in protest against the invasion of Ukraine. The action was then responded to by Russia on Friday, May 27 local time.

The Russian Foreign Ministry declared five Croatian diplomats persona non grata.

An official statement on the matter was handed over to Croatian Ambassador to Russia Tomislav Car, the foreign ministry wrote on its website.

"(To) Tomislav Car conveyed a strong protest in connection with the unfounded efforts of the Croatian authorities to blame Russia for military crimes in Ukraine and military assistance from the Croatian side to the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev," the Russian Foreign Ministry said, as reported by Antara from Anadolu Agency.

Apart from Croatia, Russia has "expelled" diplomats from France, Spain and Italy this month. Previously, Russia had also expelled German diplomats last month.

At least 3,998 civilians have been killed and 4,693 others injured since the start of the war on February 24, according to UN estimates. The actual number of victims is believed to be much higher.

Nearly 6.6 million people managed to flee to several countries, while more than 7.7 million people were internally displaced, according to the United Nations refugee agency.