Russia announced the expulsion of a correspondent and a cameraman from Germany’s ARD network, citing it as a reciprocation to purported German measures against Russian Channel One journalists, which Berlin denied.

The Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), part of ARD, lamented the decision, highlighting ongoing challenges in Moscow.

WDR's programming director Joerg Schoenenborn noted that this move further limits reporting capacity from Russia, where intimidation has been prevalent for almost three years.

In Berlin, a German foreign ministry spokesperson refuted the closure of the Channel One newsroom, attributing the Russian journalists' departure to residence law issues overseen by German states independent of federal influence.

Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed the expulsion while opening the door for re-accreditation if Germany affords similar working conditions to Channel One journalists.

This follows Channel One's claims of German-imposed security-based expulsions.