The Trump administration on Monday expelled 60 Russians and closed the Russian consulate in Seattle in retaliation for a Russian nerve agent attack in Britain.
The response follows an attempt by Russia to kill a former spy, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, on British soil.
“It cannot go unanswered,” a senior administration official said Monday on a call with reporters announcing the expulsions.
The Russians booted include 48 embassy staff and 12 assigned to the Russian mission at the United Nations in New York who used their position as “cover” to spy on Americans, the Trump administration said.
The 60 Russians — described by the U.S. as “intelligence officers” who are skilled at spying — and their families have been given seven days to leave the United States.
The United Kingdom already expelled 23 Russian diplomats in the wake of the poisoning, and other European allies are expected to take similar actions.
