Russia expels 150 diplomats, including dozens of Americans


Russia announced Thursday that it will expel 150 diplomats, including 60 Americans, and close the United States Consulate in St. Petersburg. The move comes after Western nations banded together in solidarity with the U.K. over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in southern England earlier this month.
The 60 expelled American diplomats are a tit-for-tat response to the 60 Russian diplomats Washington has expelled, The New York Times reports. Likewise, the White House had ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in Seattle.
Russia has maintained that it is not behind the poisoning, despite the toxin used on the Skripals belonging to a nerve agent class developed in the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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