Bulgaria expels 60 Russian diplomats

Bulgaria expels 60 Russian diplomats for spying Russia's one-time close ally announced the decision in a statement on Tuesday, local time. Russia cut off gas supplies to Bulgaria in April after refusing a ruble transaction. The idea is that diplomats are being expelled because of this move. At the end of April, 114 Russian diplomats were stationed in the country. But Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and outgoing Prime Minister Kirill Petkov have expelled more than half of Moscow's diplomats. "Today we have expelled 60 Russian diplomats," Petkov said. Many of them worked directly for espionage and used their diplomatic identities to do so. ” Bulgaria's foreign ministry says the decision to expel so many Russian diplomats was originally planned to limit Moscow's activities in Sofia. Kirill Petkov announced his resignation after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament last week. He fired the defense minister in February for calling Russia's invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation" rather than a "war." Petkov also backed EU sanctions against Moscow. Russia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.