Sarah Rainsford on Russia: 'I've been told I can't come back - ever'

The BBC's Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford is being forced to leave Russia at the end of August when her visa expires. Russian state media say the move is in retaliation for the refusal of the UK to grant visas to Russian journalists. Sarah spoke to the BBC Today programme about her sorrow at leaving a country she loves.

"I am being expelled - it's not a failure to renew my visa, although technically that's what it is. I'm being expelled and I've been told that I can't come back, ever.

"To be honest, it's devastating personally but it's also shocking. Russia has never been a posting for me: it's not just any old place. It is a country that I've devoted a huge amount of my life to trying to understand…

"I calculated just now that it's almost a third of my life I've lived in Russia, so one way or another: learning the language, studying the culture, the history, living here, trying to understand the people, and of course as a journalist, over many years for the BBC, on and off, working in Russia.