Russia declared seven employees of the Danish embassy in Moscow "persona non grata," saying diplomats must leave the country within two weeks, according to a statement by the Russian foreign ministry published on Thursday.

“The ambassador was informed that, as a response, seven employees of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in the Russian Federation were declared ‘persona non grata.’ They must leave the country within two weeks. A visa was also denied to a diplomat of the Danish diplomatic mission,” the statement read.

According to the ministry, the reciprocal measure comes after Copenhagen declared 15 employees of the Russian Embassy in Denmark and the Russian Trade Representation in Copenhagen “persona non grata,” as well as the provision of military assistance by the Danish authorities to Kyiv.

The Russian side noted that the “openly anti-Russian policy” of the kingdom causes serious damage to bilateral relations.

The ministry added that the Russian side reserves the right to take additional retaliatory steps to the actions of Copenhagen, which will be reported to the Danish side at a later time.