MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Russia expels five Swedish diplomats in a retaliatory move, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Sweden’s ambassador to Moscow Malena Mard was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry on May 25.

"The Swedish ambassador was notified that the Russian side had decided to declare as personae non gratae five Swedish diplomats, including three staffers of the defense attache's office at the Swedish embassy in Moscow as a retaliatory measure," the news release said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that it had described as an openly hostile act Stockholm’s decision to declare five employees of Russian diplomatic missions in Sweden as personae non gratae on April 25, 2023.

"These actions by the Swedish authorities further exacerbated the situation in bilateral relations, which have reached an unprecedented low level, including as a result of the ongoing Russophobic campaign in Sweden," the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed.

The Swedish diplomats have been ordered to leave Russia within the same deadline the Swedish authorities set for the departure of Russian diplomats.