Russia said Friday it was expelling five employees from Croatia's embassy in Moscow, following a similar move by Zagreb over Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine.
Russia's foreign ministry said it summoned Croatia's ambassador to express its "strong protest over the groundless attempts of the Croatian authorities to blame Russia for war crimes in Ukraine".
The ministry also accused Croatia of providing "military assistance to the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv".
It said that "in response to the unfriendly steps previously taken by Zagreb" five employees of Croatia's embassy in Moscow were declared "persona non grata".
In April, Croatia ordered 24 Russian embassy staff to leave the country over Moscow's "brutal aggression against Ukraine".
A number of European countries have recently expelled Russian diplomats as part of joint action against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, with Russia responding in kind.
Moscow last week kicked out diplomats from France, Italy and Spain, dozens in total, in retaliation for the expulsion of Russian diplomats from their countries.