Russia’s ambassador to the United States said that 27 more Russian diplomats and their families were expelled from America, leaving on January 30.
A large group of my comrades-in-arms will leave us by this coming Friday morning in what is an unprecedented move for Russia against American soil.” Our countrymen are being thrown out because they’ve been labelled spies,” Anatoly Antonov lamented during his interview with Soloviev Live Youtube channel airing late Saturday night
The United States has previously said that over 100 of its diplomats with families had been forced to leave the country since 2016 when U.S.-Russia relations worsened, but will it be any different this time around?
A spokesperson for Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs says nearly 200 remain in their jobs at UN headquarters and elsewhere throughout Washington D.C., including staff members from the Russian Mission there according to Maria Zakharova.
President Joe Biden’s administration has reported that the staff at America’s mission in Russia is down to just 120 people from 1,200 early last year. With many being expelled and restricted by their government it’s difficult for anything else other than a caretaker presence to continue on there nowadays.
The U.S embassy in Moscow stopped processing non-diplomatic visas this year and added Russians to a list of “homeless nationals” who can apply for visas elsewhere, including third countries.
The United States Embassy has started denying visa applications from Russian citizens living outside the country’s borders as it does not have enough resources available due an economic recession within Russia which led to thousands upon thousands being made homeless overnight because they could no longer afford their rent or mortgage payments on time each month without any warning signs beforehand that would’ve alerted them into working something out sooner rather than later before its too late
