Moldova has expelled three Russian diplomats from the country.

This comes after they accused the Russian embassy of helping a pro-Kremlin lawmaker escape imprisonment.

Modolva’s decision has led to Russia declaring it will mount an “appropriate response”.

Moldova’s Foreign Ministry ordered the Russian embassy employees to leave the country on Monday.

In a message on Telegram, it explained that its decision was “based on clear evidence on the conduct of activities contrary to the diplomatic status”.

The move provoked an immediate response from Moscow, with Russia’s Foreign Ministry announcing it would hit back, according to a report by state-run news agency RIA Novosti.

The diplomatic spat arose after Moldova accused the Russian embassy on Monday of engineering the escape of a pro-Kremlin Moldovan lawmaker to the Russian-backed breakaway Transnistria region just as he was about to be jailed over illegal political funding charges.

The case of Alexander Nesterovschii is the latest in which Moldova’s pro-European government has accused Russia of meddling in its political landscape, allegations that Moscow denies.

Moldova’s security service published a video footage which allegedly showed Nesterovschii entering the Russian Embassy in Chisinau on March 18, a day before a court sentenced him to 12 years in jail.

The lawmaker has denied charges of illegally channelling money to a pro-Russian party associated with fugitive businessman Ilan Shor at local elections in 2023, as well as the 2024 presidential vote and a national referendum on Moldova’s EU aspirations.

Moldova’s security service claims that on the day of his sentencing, Nesterovschii was taken in a car with diplomatic plates to the Transnistria region.

The Transnistria region broke away from Moldovan control in the early 1990s.

In a statement, the Russian embassy said the allegations of interference in the lawmaker’s case were unfounded and unacceptable. It called on the Moldovan authorities to “refrain from provocative speculation”.

Moldova expels 3 Russian diplomats, Moscow vows to retaliate