Russia will definitely respond to Germany, which declared 40 employees of the Russian diplomatic mission persona non grata, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Zakharova described the action of German leadership as "a vicious act of the German political machine."

Earlier the German authorities declared 40 Russian diplomats persona non grata. This was announced by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who also promised further reactions from Berlin.