REUTERS

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine says a senior diplomat of the Russian Embassy in Kyiv has been ordered to leave the territory of Ukraine within 72 hours, starting April 19, in response to the provocation against Ukrainian consul in St. Petersburg Oleksandr Sosoniuk.

Read alsoDiplomats confirm detention of Ukraine's consul in St. Petersburg"Against the backdrop of Russia's escalation of the security situation and massive anti-Ukrainian propaganda, the Russian side continues provocations against staff members of Ukrainian diplomatic missions in Russia," the ministry said in a statement on April 17.

"We strongly protest against the April 16 illegal detention of a staff member of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Saint Petersburg and the order for him to leave the territory of the Russian Federation until April 21. We absolutely reject the accusations made against the consular officer," it added.

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Such actions by the Russian authorities grossly violate the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 and confirm Russia's choosing of the line of hostility with Ukraine, the ministry stressed.

Background

  • Russia's FSB officers detained the consul of the Consulate General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg, Oleksandr Sosoniuk, on April 16, 2021.
  • The Federal Security Service claims that Sosoniuk allegedly tried to receive information of a classified nature contained in the databases of law enforcement agencies and the FSB.
  • Measures consistent with international law will be applied to the Ukrainian diplomat, the FSB said.
  • Press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleh Nikolenko said the ministry is determining the form of response to Sosoniuk's detention.
  • The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires in Russia in this regard on Saturday, April 17.
  • On the same day, it became known that Russia was expelling the Ukrainian consul.