US Expels Two Russian Diplomats in Tit-for-Tat Move: “Won’t Tolerate Harassment”

In response for the expulsion of two US diplomats from Moscow last month, the Biden administration ordered the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from the United States on Friday.

The two American diplomats were designated persona non grata by Russia as a result of connections with a Russian citizen who had previously worked for the now-closed US consulate in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok and had been detained this year, according to the State Department.

According to department spokesperson Matthew Miller, “the department will not tolerate the Russian government’s pattern of harassing our diplomats.” “Consequences will follow unacceptable actions against our embassy personnel in Moscow.”

The expulsions take place while Washington and Moscow are at odds over the conflict in Ukraine and as diplomatic ties have reached their lowest point since the Cold War.

The first secretary in the American embassy in Moscow, Jeffrey Sillin, and the second secretary, David Bernstein, were charged on September 14 with “illegal activity” and told to leave the country within a week.

The ministry claimed to have “kept in touch” with Robert Shonov, a former employee of the embassy who was suspected of gathering data on Russia’s military operations in Ukraine and associated matters for American diplomats.

The Federal Security Service of Russia, or FSB, announced Shonov’s detention in August. According to the FSB, he had acquired “information regarding the special military operation, Russian regional mobilization processes, issues, and an assessment of their impact on populace protest activities leading up to the 2024 presidential election.”

The accusations were unequivocally denied by the US.