Biden administration seeks to expel 12 Russian 'intelligence operatives' from US

• The United States is expelling 12 Russia nationals it accuses of being "intelligence operatives."
• The move was announced by Olivia Dalton, spokesperson for the US Mission to the United Nations.

The Biden administration is seeking to expel a dozen people from Russia's delegation to the United Nations that it says are working as "intelligence operatives."

In a post on Twitter, Olivia Dalton, spokesperson for the US Mission to the United Nations, said the administration was beginning the process of expelling 12 "intelligence operatives" who had "abused their privileges of residency in the US by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security."

Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nevbenzya, told reporters that he received a letter Monday afternoon informing him of the US's intent.

According to Dalton, the move had been "in the works for several months." But the announcement also comes less than two weeks after Moscow expelled Bart Gorman, the second-highest-ranking US diplomat in the country. At the time, a State Department spokesperson called the move an "escalatory step," saying the US was "considering our response."

The US and Russia have frequently expelled each other's diplomats as relations between the countries worsened. The Biden administration last year expelled 10 Russian diplomats as retaliation for hacking and what it said was Moscow's interference in the 2020 presidential election.

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