Russian diplomats expelled from Bulgaria and members of their families flew from Sofia to Moscow, Euractiv reports..

“On July 3, 70 Russian diplomats and members of their families boarded two government aircraft of the Russian Federation.. According to the Bulgarian press, the total number of passengers who have left the country is more than 180 people..

Among the expelled diplomats is Filipp Voskresensky, Counsellor-Envoy of the Russian Embassy. Technical workers of Russian diplomatic missions also flew home: cooks, gardeners, drivers.

Bulgaria declared 70 Russian diplomats persona non grata last Thursday, their largest expulsion since the Cold War, when Britain expelled 105 Soviet diplomats.

Sofia accuses diplomats of spying for Russia. This is not the first time Moscow has been involved in a diplomatic scandal when intelligence officers are found among the staff of its representative offices abroad..

In Russia, such a decision is called illegal and they threaten to stop the diplomatic presence in Bulgaria.. In turn, Philip Voskresensky claims that none of the exiled diplomats worked against Bulgaria.. “No one can spoil the Russian-Bulgarian relations, no one,” he said before the flight.

The expelled diplomats returned to their homeland in T-shirts with the image of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his quote praising the “fearlessness” of the Russian Federation.