Bulgaria's foreign ministry said on Friday it had declared 10 Russian diplomats "persona non grata" and given them 72 hours to leave the Balkan country over what it said were activities deemed incompatible with their diplomatic status.
It is the second wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats from Bulgaria this month. On March 2, Sofia expelled two Russian diplomats over allegations they had been involved in espionage.
Bulgaria, Moscow's closest ally during the Cold War but now a European Union and NATO member state that has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has expelled eight other Russian diplomats over suspected spying since October 2019.
