Russia says it will give a ‘harsh and painful’ response after Hungary expels 10 diplomats - Europe live

2026/09/08

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Moscow says it will have a 'harsh and painful' response to Hungarian move to expel 10 diplomats

We are getting a bit more on that Russian response to Hungary, and it’s clear that Moscow is not happy.

The foreign ministry said it would proceed with a “harsh and painful” response, AFP reported.

“The response to the Russophobic lobby in Budapest will be harsh and painful,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency.

Key events

Ukraine has been asking western allies for air defence equipment amid fears Russia will dramatically intensify its missile attacks this winter. My colleagues Jamie Grierson and Dan Sabbagh have written a story about the UK committing to £100m to boost Ukraine’s air defences ahead of the anticipated attacks. We already mentioned the pledge in this post, but their story contains more detail. Here is an extract:

double quotation markThe air defence interceptors plus large-calibre artillery rounds and other drones will be supplied to Ukraine through a contribution to a Nato scheme to buy American weapons.

Ukraine is currently unable to prevent Russian ballistic missile attacks due to a shortage of Patriot interceptors, leading to attacks that have killed civilians and destroyed food and logistics warehouses over the summer.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he wants to obtain 300 Patriot missiles, costing about $3m (£2.6m) each, to help Kyiv protect its electricity, heating and water systems through the normally hard winter.

The UK did not say how many Patriots it would be able to buy, but the number is likely to be only a fraction of the number sought, though other western allies are also examining how they can help Kyiv defend itself.

40-year-old Russian man questioned over Romanian sabotage allegations

A 40-year-old Russian man suspected of being involved in the operation is being questioned by Romanian prosecutors on Tuesday, a statement from Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism said.

Authorities are seeking court approval to detain him for 30 days pending inquiries into his encrypted communications, which reportedly included photos of several Romanian and multinational military bases.

Romanian intelligence service says it prevented Russian sabotage operation targeting defence, critical infrastructure

Romanian intelligence service said it “prevented the commission of a sabotage on national territory,” involving a Russian citizen in Romania and a number of defence and critical infrastructure targets.

In a statement, the SRI service said that the Russian man, who was being monitored as part of an extensive investigation, attempted to take photo and video documentation of “some communications centres and national military bases used by Nato allies,” as well as other defence institutions and critical infrastructure.

“The data obtained indicate a similar action pattern to that used on the territory of European states by networks of saboteurs coordinated by entities from the Russian Federation, including in the cases thwarted in Romania in 2024 and 2025: the Russian citizen was instructed by an intermediary to make photo-video materials with targets of strategic military interest, including a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft during their presence on the national territory.”

It added that “the specific actions taken by the SRI, as well as the measures taken with the Romanian authorities and external partners, led to the prevention of an act of sabotage on national territory.”

The service did not offer more detail on whether it involved any arrests.

Dutch foreign minister calls for 'accountability, reconciliation, education' after Serbia's 'hero' funeral for Mladić

Dutch foreign minister Tom Berendsen also joined in calls for “accountability, reconciliation and education about the past” as he criticised Serbia for holding a “hero” funeral for Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladić (12:48).

In a statement, Berendsen said:

“Ratko Mladić was convicted of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. The honour bestowed upon him in Belgrade by the state is incompatible with European values and deeply hurtful to victims and their families.

The Netherlands supports voices in Serbia and across the region calling for accountability, reconciliation and education about the past.”

German police detain suspect after sabotage attacks on power grid

Elsewhere, we are getting a line from Germany that German police have detained a man suspected ⁠of carrying ⁠out ​a series of sabotage attacks on the country’s ⁠electricity grid, as reported by local media and Reuters.

A general view after a sabotage attempt which had been made to short-circuit a power grid installation in Dormagen, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
A general view after a sabotage attempt which had been made to short-circuit a power grid installation in Dormagen, in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Photograph: Petra Wischgoll/Reuters

The suspect, identified as Daniel V. by German media, was detained in Weisweiler about 50 kilometres (30 miles) west ‌of Cologne, where he allegedly carried out one of his ​attempted attacks, Reuters said.

German police have been searching for the 48-year-old since they obtained letters ⁠claiming responsibility for a series ​of sabotage ​attacks on the ​power grid, in which ​the suspect ‌cited opposition to ​fossil ​fuels as a motive.

German news agency DPA said that the suspect’s “motive was reportedly climate-related, with the letters criticising electricity production from fossil fuels.”

EU backs Hungary's decision to expel 10 Russian diplomats

Separately, the commission was also asked about Hungary’s decision to expel 10 Russian diplomats this morning.

The commission’s foreign affairs spokesperson Christian Wigand said:

“We take note of Hungary’s legitimate decision.

This is an expected reaction [given] Russia’s persistent campaign in using hybrid attacks against the EU and its member states.

The European Union expresses its full solidarity with Hungary and reaffirms its support for the diplomatic and consular activities of all member states conducted in accordance with international law.

The European Union will continue to closely coordinate with Hungary and other member states, and remains committed to protecting the interests and the rights of EU citizens.”

Bosnia withdraws diplomatic staff from Serbia in protest at Mladić's 'hero' funeral

It’s worth noting that Bosnia and Herzegovina withdrew all staff from its Belgrade embassy yesterday, and transferred consular services to its embassies in Zagreb and Podgorica in protest against Mladić’s ‘hero’ funeral in Belgrade.

The ministry said the move intended to “reduce communication with Serbia to the lowest possible level,” while intensifying its dialogue about the situation with the EU, US, and the UK.

It’s also probably safe to say that the Bosnian foreign ministry was not impressed with the commission’s bland holding position yesterday.

Responding to questions from reporters yesterday, the EU’s lead spokesperson Paula Pinho insisted that “there is no place for glorification of war criminals,” but did not really engage with repeated questions about the apparent state and military honours involved.

In a late afternoon post directed at Pinho, the ministry said: “are you even aware of what you are saying?”

It continued:

“Five ministers from the Serbian Government were seated in the front row at the funeral, a convicted war criminal was given military honours, and his body was flown in on a Serbian Government aircraft.

What are you afraid of? Why are you unwilling to call this what it is?

Your position on the funeral of a convicted war criminal is a disgrace to the entire European Union!”

Difficult not to see a link between their furious reaction and this morning’s hasty statement from von der Leyen and Pinho’s notably different tone at today’s midday briefing.

EU 'looking into' its response to Serbia's 'hero' funeral for Mladić

Not surprisingly, the issue of the EU’s muddled response to yesterday’s “hero” funeral for Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladić comes up again during today’s midday briefing held by the European Commission.

A commission spokesperson said the commission was “looking into” any potential consequences for Serbia.

She also repeated commission president von der Leyen’s criticism from this morning (9:41), saying the images from the funeral were “shocking” and “speak for themselves.”

“They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union,” Paula Pinho said.

She declined to say if von der Leyen would visit Belgrade on her annual trip to western Balkans, stressing the programme is still being worked on.

Moscow says it will have a 'harsh and painful' response to Hungarian move to expel 10 diplomats

We are getting a bit more on that Russian response to Hungary, and it’s clear that Moscow is not happy.

The foreign ministry said it would proceed with a “harsh and painful” response, AFP reported.

“The response to the Russophobic lobby in Budapest will be harsh and painful,” foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told the TASS state news agency.

Russia to respond to Hungary's decision to expel 10 Russian diplomats

Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry told RIA Novosti news agency that it would respond to Hungary’s decision to expel ten Russian spies diplomats from Budapest (11:09).

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