On Thursday, the Obama Administration announced its plans to punish Russia by ordering sanctions against the country’s officials and intelligence services in retaliation for their alleged involvement in tampering with the U.S. Presidential election.
According to Reuters, the US is planning on kicking out 35 Russian intelligence operatives from Washington D.C. and San Francisco and issued an order to close two Russian compounds located in New York and Maryland. According to a U.S. official, the motion comes in response to a campaign of harassment by Russians against American diplomats in Moscow. The official also stated that the Russians have 72 hours to leave and access to the compounds would be closed to Russian officials by noon on Friday.
“These actions were taken to respond to Russian harassment of American diplomats and actions by the diplomats that we have assessed to be not consistent with diplomatic practice,” the official told Reuters.
In his announcement, President Obama stated that “all Americans should be alarmed by Russia’s actions” and added that the actions against Russia are “a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm U.S. interests.”
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