Russia said that it was removing two US embassy employees for allegedly “liaising” with Robert Shonov, a former US consulate employee who Moscow accuses of spying.
Russia expels US diplomats: They accused Shonov, a representative of the US consulate in Vladivostok, of informing American officials about the conflict in Ukraine, a charge that the US has denied.
The two US diplomats, Jeff Sillin and David Bernstein, allegedly engaged in “illegal activities by coordinating with a Russian citizen, (Robert) Shonov,” according to the Russian foreign ministry.
The statement conveyed to the US ambassador that they had given Sillin and Bernstein the status of persona non grata and had instructed them to depart Russian territory within seven days.
For years, relations between Russia and the United States have deteriorated, leading to the expulsion of diplomats from both countries.
The US strongly criticized Shonov’s detention in May, alleging that Russia was using “increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens.”