BERLIN: Germany said Wednesday that it would drastically reduce Moscow's diplomatic presence on its soil in response to a similar move from Russia, the latest escalation of tensions sparked by the war in Ukraine.
Moscow called Germany's decision "ill thought out" and vowed a response.
Berlin has ordered four of Moscow's five consulates in Germany to close, a decision that "was communicated to the Russian foreign ministry today", a foreign ministry spokesman said at a press conference.
The move comes after Moscow put a limit of 350 on the number of German government personnel allowed in Russia, the spokesman said.
This will mean that hundreds of civil servants and local employees working for German institutions in Russia will have to leave the country, according to the German foreign ministry.
"This unjustified decision forces the government to make very substantial cuts in all areas of its presence in Russia," the spokesman said.
This will include closing the German consulates in Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, with operations to be considerably reduced and discontinued by November, he said.
Germany's embassy in Moscow and its consulate in Saint Petersburg will not be affected.
"For the Russian presence in Germany, our decisions apply reciprocally... in order to ensure a balance of the mutual presences both in terms of personnel and structure," the spokesman said.
Moscow's reduction of German staff in Russia will affect several hundred people working in German embassies or institutions starting in June, according to the foreign ministry.
Soured relations
Those affected include consulate staff, but primarily employees of German schools, nurseries and the Goethe cultural institute in the country.
Moscow accused Germany of destroying decades of "mutually beneficial cooperation" and vowed to retaliate.
"There should be no doubt in Berlin that these ill-thought-out provocative actions will not remain without our proper reaction," the Russian foreign ministry said, without further details.
A close economic partner with Russia before Moscow invaded Ukraine, Germany has since sharply dialled down its ties with Moscow, while financially and militarily supporting Kyiv in the conflict.
According to German security services, since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine, Russian espionage in Germany has grown at a rate rarely equalled in recent years.
In April, Germany expelled several Russian diplomats "to reduce the presence of intelligence services", prompting a tit-for-tat response from Moscow, which booted out around 20 German embassy staff.
In spring 2022, Germany had already expelled some 40 Russian diplomats whom Berlin suspected of representing a threat to its security.
Last October, the head of Germany's cybersecurity agency, Arne Schoenbohm, was fired after news reports revealed his proximity to a cybersecurity consultancy believed to have contacts with Russian intelligence services.
A month later, a German reserve officer was handed a suspended prison sentence of a year and nine months in prison for spying for Russia.
Even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Germany had repeatedly accused Russia of cyberattacks on its soil.
Relations between the two countries have also been strained by energy policies, with Russia throttling gas supplies to Germany in response to Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine conflict.