Italy Adds To List Of EU Nations Expelling Russian Diplomats

The Italian foreign ministry has confirmed that it is expelling 40 Russian diplomats in response to Russian troops actions in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Italy follows in the footsteps of Germany, France, Denmark, Latvia and Lithuania in removing a number of senior Russian diplomatic officials.

• The move is unlikely to have any immediate impact on the situation, but is indicative of the almost total isolation Russia now finds itself in diplomatically in relation to the European continent.
• If those expelled from various EU member states were intelligence agents acting under the guise of being diplomats, then the expulsions could severely damage Russia's intelligence networks in the EU. Alternatively, if those deemed persona non grata were in fact actual diplomats then their removal could make the operation of Russian embassies in EU member states a difficult, if not impossible task. This in turn risks a backlash from Russian citizens living in these countries, and limits the Russian gov'ts ability to seek any sort of dialogue with EU member state gov'ts.