Russia expels Ukrainian diplomat for spying

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Saturday asked a Ukrainian diplomat to leave the country after he was caught red-handed receiving classified information from a Russian citizen, reported Xinhua.

The ministry said it had summoned Ukraine's Charge d'Affaires Vasily Pokotilo after Russia's Federal Security Service briefly detained Ukrainian consul Aleksandr Sosonyuk in St. Petersburg on Friday for obtaining classified information about Russian law enforcement agencies.

The Russian side pointed out the inadmissibility of Sosonyuk's activity, which was incompatible with the status of a consular officer and detrimental to Russia's security interests, the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry said that his stay on Russian territory is undesirable and that it is "recommended" that he leave the country within 72 hours starting April 19.