You're reading: Russia expels Ukrainian diplomat as counter-measure

Russia has expelled a Ukrainian diplomat, Consul Ihor Fedykovych, who worked for the Consulate in St. Petersburg, in response to an analogous step by Kyiv.

“We confirm the expulsion of the Ukrainian diplomat as a counter-measure,” a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Sept. 1.

A source in Kyiv’s diplomatic circles told Interfax earlier on Sept. 1 that Russia expelled a Ukrainian diplomat.

“Consul Ihor Fedykovych, who worked for the Ukrainian Consulate in St. Petersburg, was expelled from Russia on Aug. 25,” he said. The move came as a response to the expulsion of a staff member from the Russian Consulate in Odesa, the source said.

The Russian acting consul in Odesa, Valery Shibeko, was expelled from Ukraine in July. According to Ukrainian Security Service chief Vasyl Hrytsak, “the decision was made due to his activities being incompatible with a diplomatic one, as well as a violation of the provisions of the Vienna Convention.”

For his part, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said at the time that Russia will take “the necessary counter-measures, as is customary in diplomatic practice.”