The Russian Foreign Ministry announced this Friday that it will expel 45 Polish diplomats from Russia in response to Poland's expulsion of 45 Russian diplomats. 

"In response to Poland's unfriendly actions for the expulsion of Russian diplomats, based on the principle of reciprocity, 45 employees of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Consulates General of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk, Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg were declared persona non grata ", said the Russian Foreign Ministry in a statement published in Telegram. 

"They must leave the territory of the Russian Federation before the end of April 13. The relevant note was handed over to the Polish ambassador to Russia," the statement said. 

Polish Ambassador to Moscow Krzysztof Kraevsky was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday to express "strong protest" against Poland's decision to expel 45 Russian diplomats as persona non grata, according to the statement. 

"The ambassador was told that we consider this step as a confirmation of Warsaw's conscious desire to finally destroy bilateral relations. The responsibility for this lies entirely with the Polish side," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.