MOSCOW, February 5. /TASS/. Moscow is removing a German embassy worker in a tit-for-tat response to Berlin’s move to expel a Russian diplomat, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the document, the ministry summoned the head of the German diplomatic mission in Russia. "The German diplomatic mission’s head has been handed a note declaring a diplomat at the German embassy in Moscow persona non grata in a tit-for-tat response to a similar move by the German government, which is fully responsible for another round of strain in bilateral relations," the statement reads.

"A strong protest was issued to Germany over the decision that the country’s government made on January 22, 2026, declaring a Russian embassy worker persona non grata. We pointed out that there was no evidence to prove Berlin’s unfounded accusations against him as they were fabricated in the spirit of the spy mania that is being fueled in Germany at the government’s behest. Russia strongly rejects these accusations," the ministry pointed out.

On January 22, the Russian embassy in Berlin confirmed that the German Foreign Ministry had summoned Ambassador Sergey Nechayev over the detention of a woman, a dual German-Ukrainian citizen, suspected of spying for Russia. The Russian embassy worker who the German Foreign Ministry claimed was her handler was declared persona non grata.