BERLIN — Hundreds of Germans working in the education and cultural sectors are being expelled from Russia next month, the German Foreign Ministry said.

It confirmed media reports that Russia had decided to cap the number of German employees from the start of June.

They include teachers at the German school in Moscow and staff at the Goethe Institute cultural association.

The move follows tit-for-tat expulsions of diplomats and increasingly strained relations between Russia and Germany.

Last month, Russia and Germany each declared 40 employees of their respective embassies personae non grata and expelled them.

German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported that the latest move will affect a “low-to-mid three-digit number” of employees, including diplomats.

“In view of this unilateral, unjustified and incomprehensible decision, the Federal Government is now concerned with ensuring a minimum presence of intermediaries in Russia while also maintaining a diplomatic presence,” the newspaper quoted the German Foreign Ministry as saying.

In making a decision on the maximum number of Russians in Germany, the Ministry said it would aim at ensuring real balance in practice.

Several EU countries have expelled Russian diplomats since the start of the war in Ukraine. More than 40 diplomats suspected of spying were issued expulsion orders from four EU countries in March 2022. — BBC