The images from Bucha show an unbelievable brutality on the part of the Russian leadership and those who follow its propaganda, a destructiveness that knows no bounds. We must fear that similar images will emerge from many other places that Russian troops have occupied in Ukraine.

We must counter this inhumanity with the strength of our freedom and our humanity. At the same time, it must be clear that we must stand by our freedom and be prepared to defend it.

The Federal Government has therefore decided today to declare persona non grata a significant number of members of the Russian Embassy who have worked against our freedom, against the cohesion of our society, day after day here in Germany. Their work is a threat to those who seek protection here. We will not tolerate this any longer. We notified the Russian Ambassador of our decision this afternoon.

We are working with our partners on additional responses. We will further tighten the sanctions already in place against Russia, and we will resolutely increase our support for the Ukrainian armed forces and strengthen NATO’s eastern flank, too.