Spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Oleh Nikolenko has said the ministry highly appreciates the work of Consul General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg Oleksandr Sosoniuk who has been expelled from Russia.
Nikolenko told UNIAN that Sosoniuk left Russia Wednesday, April 21.
"In Ukraine, he intends to take a short vacation to spend time with his family and recuperate. We must understand the work of Ukrainian diplomats in Russia, in fact on the territory of the aggressor state, is full of numerous challenges. People work under conditions of increased pressure, permanent threats of provocations. In addition, the Russian side neglects its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in particular in terms of ensuring the security of the foreign diplomatic corps," Nikolenko said.
The spokesperson said the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry highly appreciates the work done by Sosoniuk and all employees of Ukrainian diplomatic institutions in Russia.
"After a vacation, the consul will return to the Foreign Ministry and will continue to defend the national interests of our state," Nikolenko said.
Read alsoRussia expels Ukrainian consul detained in St. PetersburgDetention of Ukrainian Consul in St. Petersburg: Developments
- On April 16, 2021, FSB operatives detained Consul General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg Oleksandr Sosoniuk.
- The secret service claimed that Sosoniuk had allegedly tried to obtain confidential information from the Russian law enforcement agencies' databases.
- The agency stressed that such activities were incompatible with diplomatic status and are "clearly hostile to the Russian Federation."
- The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed outrage at the incident, dismissing charges as provocation.
- It later became known that Russia was expelling the Ukrainian consul.
- Meanwhile, Ukraine decided to take a retaliatory measure to expel a Russian diplomat from Kyiv in response to the Russian provocation in St. Petersburg.
- On April 21, senior diplomat with the Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Yevgeny Chernikov, who had been declared persona non grata in Ukraine, left the country.
