The Kremlin expels the Estonian ambassador and denounces Tallinn's "total Russophobia"
Moscow announced the expulsion of Estonia's ambassador, denouncing Tallinn's "total Russophobia". The Estonian diplomat must leave Russia by February 7. The Russian MFA added that the measure is a reaction to Estonia's decision to reduce the number of employees at the Russian embassy in Tallinn.
On January 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia notified the Russian ambassador about the need to reduce the number of Russian diplomats to eight by February 1, the purpose of the decision being to achieve parity in the number of embassy employees, which means that the number of positions in the Russian representations and Estonian in the capitals of the countries will be the same.
The three Baltic countries - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - are among NATO members strongly demanding that Germany deliver its Leopard tanks to Ukraine to support Kiev in the face of a Russian invasion. Estonia has joined other allies of Ukraine in sending additional weapons to the country. At the beginning of the year, the Tallinn government allocated almost one million euros for the dismantling of all remaining Soviet monuments on its territory, as did the rest of the Baltic states and Poland.
