Russia chides France over Ukraine role and warns US diplomats of expulsion threat

The Kremlin accused France of becoming more directly involved in the war in Ukraine and told the United States that its diplomats would be expelled if they meddled in Moscow’s affairs, as Germany “strongly advised” its citizens against visiting Russia.

Moscow’s forces are now trying to seize more of eastern Ukraine amid a slowing of western arms supplies to Kyiv, and as Russia tries to rally support for President Vladimir Putin before March 15-17th elections that are sure to extend his 24-year rule.

Russia frames its two-year full invasion of Ukraine as a defensive move provoked by a hostile West, and is making much of French president Emmanuel Macron’s recent refusal to rule out sending troops to Ukraine, and a leaked recording of senior German officers discussing how Berlin could send long-range missiles to Kyiv and how it might use them.

“Mr Macron is sure of his line on inflicting a strategic defeat on our country. He continues to raise the level of France’s direct involvement in this war,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

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In Paris, Mr Macron and his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu signed a defence co-operation pact between their countries.

“If the aggressor is not stopped, he will keep going, and the front line will keep moving closer. Closer to us. Closer to you,” Ms Sandu said. “Europe must therefore present a united front.”

[ Russian missile lands ‘very close’ to Zelenskiy and Greek prime minister Mitsotakis ]

The Russian foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, and asked her to ensure that her mission halted all assistance to three US non-governmental organisations deemed “undesirable” for running “anti-Russian programmes” that sought to covertly recruit “agents of influence” in Russia.

“It was particularly emphasised that attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation, including subversive actions and the spread of disinformation in the context of elections and the special military operation, will be firmly and resolutely prevented ... including with the expulsion as ‘persona non grata’ of US embassy employees involved in such actions,” the ministry added.

Russia uses the term “special military operation” for its invasion of Ukraine, which has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians and displaced millions of Ukrainians.

The war has been accompanied by a further crackdown on civil liberties in Russia, where several people with US citizenship have been arrested. The most recent case involves dual US-Russian citizen Ksenia Karelina, a resident of Los Angeles, who was arrested while visiting Russia for having donated $51 (€47) to a Ukrainian charity.

Analysts believe the Kremlin wants to swap the detainees for Russian prisoners in the West, including Vadim Krasikov, a Russian security service assassin imprisoned in Germany for the 2019 murder of a former member of a Chechen militant group.

Associates of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny say that before his death last month, talks were taking place to exchange him for Krasikov.

Germany has now revised its travel advice for Russia and “strongly” discourages its citizens from going there, in part because of “arbitrary arrests being observed more and more frequently”.

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