Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced that it is closing the German Consulate General in St. Petersburg and the remaining branches of the Goethe-Institut on Russian territory, describing the move as a response to Germany’s earlier closure of Russian diplomatic and cultural facilities. Germany’s Chargé d’Affaires in Moscow has been informed that the St. Petersburg consulate must cease operations no later than Sept. 18, with staff required to leave Russian territory by that date, European Pravda reported on Monday, Sept. 7.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “The decisions were made in connection with the unfriendly actions of the German side,” the Foreign Ministry said. Additionally, the Goethe-Institut’s branches must be vacated by Sept. 13. The relevant notes were reportedly handed formally to the head of the German diplomatic mission in Moscow. Lavrov signaled the closures days earlier Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov foreshadowed the retaliation on Sept. 3, telling the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok that Moscow would be shutting Goethe-Institut branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. “Of course, they will be closed after our cultural center was kicked out of Berlin,” Lavrov said, adding that “otherwise, we would not respect ourselves.” He continued by stating that Berlin should have understood that closing the Russian House would mean “the end of its cultural presence” in Russia.