US expels second-ranking Russian diplomat in response to expulsion of US deputy chief of mission from Moscow

The US is expelling the second most senior diplomat at the Russian embassy in Washington as a response to the expulsion of the second ranking US diplomat in Moscow earlier this year, according to the State Department.

“We can confirm that the United States informed the Russian Embassy that we are expelling its Minister Counselor,” a State Department spokesperson said, noting that the deputy chief of mission at the Russian Embassy had “previously departed as part of a normal rotation,” so the Minister Counselor “is the next most senior official at the Russian Embassy.”

“We are taking these actions as a direct response to the unprovoked