Chisinau: Moldova announced on Wednesday that it was drastically reducing the number of diplomats that Moscow is permitted to station in its capital city of Chisinau. Moldova cited years of "hostile actions" by Moscow and a media report about a potential spying setup on the embassy's rooftop.

After President Maia Sandu strongly denounced Moscow's invasion of the neighbouring Ukraine and claimed that Russia was attempting to overthrow her, relations between the two countries, which were once a part of the Soviet Union, have reached new lows.

At a cabinet meeting, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu stated, "We agreed on the need to limit the number of accredited diplomats from Russia, so that there are fewer people trying to destabilise the Republic of Moldova."

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The foreign ministry announced in a separate statement that the embassy's staff would be reduced from more than 80 to 25, bringing it in line with Moldova's embassy in Moscow.

By August 15, Russia must put the decision into effect, it stated.
"Russian actions and policies have been hostile towards us for a long time. Numerous of them were done so via the embassy, according to Popescu.

The decision by Moldova will "not go unanswered," according to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, who also called it "another step in the destruction of bilateral relations" between the two nations.

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The Kremlin expressed regret over Moldova's choice and charged the government with promoting "Russophobia."

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters, "Unfortunately, Chisinau is deliberately driving our relations into a very miserable state.
Popescu made reference to a media story by The Insider and the television network Jurnal TV about spying gear installed on the roof of the Russian embassy.

The report prompted the foreign ministry of Moldova to request an explanation from Russia's ambassador. The spying allegation, according to Zakharova, is "a fantasy that has nothing to do with reality."

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Oleg Vasnetsov, the Russian ambassador to Moldova, claimed that the embassy required antennas because it was constructed at the end of the 1990s. "There probably wouldn't be a need for constant upgrades if telephony and the internet worked well," he said.