U.S. Says Russian U.N. Diplomats Are Spies and Orders Them Out – WSJ

WASHINGTON The U.S. is expelling a dozen Russian diplomats assigned to the United Nations in New York on allegations that they are intelligence agents, after what people familiar with the matter say was a yearslong debate within the U.S. government about the value of providing them with visas.

The expulsions come as Russia s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a wide-ranging response from Western countries, with economic sanctions, diplomatic pressure and athletic and cultural bans emerging at levels not seen since the Cold War. The Biden administration even announced sanctions personally targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Sergei Lavrov, Russia s top diplomat.

For several years the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State Department have argued about whether to grant visas to many Russian diplomats in the U.S., including those stationed at the U.N., people familiar with the matter said.

via www.wsj.com