STOCKHOLM, April 5. /TASS/. The Swedish Foreign Ministry has made a decision to expel three Russian diplomats, Foreign Minister Ann Linde told a news conference on Tuesday.

"Russia’s ambassador in Stockholm was summoned to the Foreign Ministry today to be notified of Sweden’s and the EU’s strong condemnation," she said. "Also today, the Foreign Ministry made a decision to deport three Russian diplomats who fail to work in Sweden in accordance with the Vienna convention."

Linde did not mention when the Russian diplomats would have to leave the country. She did not rule out that more Russian embassy staffers would be declared personae non gratae in the future.

She explained that the decision on the expulsion followed the events in Bucha in "other parts of Ukraine" and was made "after prolonged discussions." Linde added that Sweden supported the introduction of a fifth package of sanctions against Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry on April 3 dismissed the Kiev regime’s charges its forces had allegedly killed civilians in the community of Bucha, the Kiev Region. The ministry recalled that Russian forces left Bucha on March 30, while faked evidence of alleged killings was presented four days later, when Ukrainian security service SBU agents arrived in the locality. The Russian Defense Ministry also said that on March 31 Bucha’s Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said in a video address that there were no Russian soldiers in the community. Nor did he mention any locals allegedly shot on the streets. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the Bucha incident as a "fake attack.".