Russia has expelled five Portuguese diplomats in a retaliatory move, its foreign ministry said. Embassy staff are required to leave Moscow within 14 days, it said.
It comes after the Russian ministry kicked out a total of 85 diplomats – 34 from France, 27 from Spain and 24 from Italy – on Wednesday in response to similar moves by those countries.
Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched the war on Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, the World Bank will make $30bn available to help stem a food security crisis threatened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has cut off most grain exports from the two countries. Also, UN secretary-general António Guterres has warned that the food shortages stoked by the war in Ukraine could last years and cause mass hunger and famine across the world. However, Financial markets have endured another torrid day amid concerns that the war in Ukraine, along with inflation and supply problems, was pushing the world towards recession. In the US the Dow Jones average closed down 3.57% on Wednesday while the broader S&P500 suffered its worst session since June 2020, plunging 4.04%.