Today, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared two American diplomats persona non grata and ordered them to leave the country within seven days due to their alleged involvement in "illegal activities".
The ministry stated in a statement that the first secretary at the US embassy in Russia, Jeffrey Silin, and the second secretary, David Bernstein, "maintained contact" with a former employee of the US consulate in Vladivostok who was arrested earlier this year. The man is accused of gathering information for US diplomats about Russian military action in Ukraine and related issues.
According to the announcement, the US ambassador to Russia, Lynn Tracy, was called to the ministry today when she was told that Silin and Bernstein were being expelled.
"It was also emphasized that the illegal activities of the American diplomatic mission, including interference in the internal affairs of the host country, are unacceptable and will be resolutely suppressed. The Russian side expects Washington to draw the correct conclusions and refrain from confrontation," the statement said.
For now, there are no comments from the US Embassy or the State Department, AP said.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the country's leading security agency, announced last month that it had arrested Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US consulate in Vladivostok.
He is accused of collecting information about a special military operation, the mobilization process in Russian regions, problems and assessments of their impact on the population's protest activities ahead of the 2024 presidential elections."
Moscow calls the fighting in Ukraine a "special military operation".
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