Associated Press

Denmark expels 15 Russian intel officers

AP Photo / Petros Giannakouris
Ruslan Mishanin, right, bids farewell to his nine year old daughter as the train leaves with his family for Poland, at the train station in Odesa, on Monday, April 4, 2022. More than 4 million people have fled the war in Ukraine and crossed borders into neighbourhood countries.

The Associated Press

17:51 JST, April 5, 2022

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark’s Foreign Ministry says the country is expelling 15 Russian intelligence officers who worked at Russia’s Embassy in Copenhagen.

The ministry said the Russian ambassador was informed of the decision on Tuesday. It said Denmark strongly condemned “Russia’s brutality against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha” and stressed that “deliberate attacks on civilians are a war crime.”

The officers have two weeks to leave Denmark. Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said “they pose a risk to our national security that we cannot ignore.”

The move came after France and Germany on Monday announced the expulsion of dozens of Russians with diplomatic status.

France plans to expel 35. The French Foreign Ministry cited national security reasons for the expulsions, saying the Russian diplomats were conducting “activities contrary to our security interests.” It gave no details.