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Russia on Wednesday said it was expelling US diplomats in retaliation for Washington's move to remove 12 of Moscow's representatives to the UN based in New York.
"On March 23, a note with the list of the American diplomats declared 'persona non grata' was handed to the head of the American diplomatic mission who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," the ministry said.
The decision was taken in response to the expulsion by Washington of Russian diplomats at the UN in New York, a source said.
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World and US-led military alliance leaders gather at Nato headquarters in Brussels to discuss the war in Ukraine. Reuters -
Smoke rises near a seaport in Berdyansk, Ukraine, whose navy reported it had sunk the Russian ship ‘Orsk’ in the Sea of Asov. AP Photo -
Refugees with children wait for a transport after fleeing the war from neighbouring Ukraine at a railway station in Przemysl, Poland. AP Photo -
A girl sleeps as refugees from Ukraine wait at the railway station in Przemysl, Poland. More than half of Ukraine's children have already been displaced, Unicef said. AFP -
A school destroyed in a Russian bomb in Kharkiv. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from the capital Kyiv. AP -
Activists hold placards during a protest in solidarity with Ukraine, at Grand Central Station in New York. AFP -
Ukrainian refugees take sandwiches at Krakow Airport before boarding a plane to Zurich, chartered by a Swiss millionaire. AFP -
A man collects clothes from a damaged house in the city of Zhytomyr, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A customer checks his rifle in a gun shop in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP -
A mother tends to her newborn baby in the shelter of a maternity ward in the city of Zhytomyr, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A serviceman carries the photo of Captain Andrei Paliy, a deputy commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, during a farewell ceremony in Sevastopol, Crimea. AP -
A member of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces stands in front of a damaged house in the city of Zhytomyr, northern Ukraine. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman guards a military check point in the city of Zhytomyr, northern Ukraine. AFP -
Zinaida Bogdanova, a resident of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, reacts as she stays at a temporary accommodation centre for evacuees located in the building of a local sports school in Taganrog in the Rostov region, Russia. Reuters -
Children play in front of a building damaged in fighting during the Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
Graves of residents killed by shelling during the Ukraine-Russia conflict are seen in a yard, in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
A Russian army soldier stands next to local residents who queue for humanitarian aid delivered during the Ukraine-Russia conflict, in the besieged southern port of Mariupol, Ukraine. Reuters -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands on guard as Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, right, speaks alongside his brother, former heavyweight boxing world champion, Wladimir Klitschko, in the Ukrainian capital. AP -
Family photos lie amid the rubble of the home of former teacher Natalia. The house, in Kyiv, was hit in a military strike. Reuters -
A service member of pro-Russian troops, wearing a uniform without insignia, handles a mortar round at the weapons depot near Marinka, Donetsk. Reuters -
Volodymyr, 80, rests inside his apartment, which was damaged by shelling, in Kyiv. AP -
This Maxar satellite image shows the remains of high-rise apartment buildings in Mariupol. AFP -
A man walks through a residential district of Kyiv that was damaged by shelling. Reuters -
A woman exercises near a car and apartments damaged by shelling, in Kyiv. AP -
Volunteers at a beach fill sandbags to defend their city, Odesa, in southern Ukraine. AP -
A firefighter takes a break from extinguishing flames inside a house in Kyiv that was damaged by shelling. AP -
Rescuers conduct search operations and dismantle debris in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AFP -
People queue at a pharmacy in Kharkiv. AP -
City workers cover the monument to Italian poet, writer and philosopher Dante Alighieri with sandbags to protect against Russian shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
Former teacher Natalia stands near the ruins of her house which was hit in a military strike in Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
Locals clean the area at a residential district of Kyiv that was damaged by shelling, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues. Reuters
"The US side has been given firm notice that any hostile action by the United States against Russia will be met with a resolute and appropriate response," the ministry said.
The US expelled 12 members of the Russian diplomatic mission to the UN on charges of "espionage" in early March amid an open crisis with Russia over Ukraine.
"The US has informed the Russian mission that we are beginning the process of expelling 12 intelligence operatives from the Russian mission who have abused their privileges of residency in the US by engaging in espionage activities that are adverse to our national security," said Olivia Dalton, spokeswoman for the US mission to the UN.
The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoli Antonov, denounced it as a "hostile move", saying the actions were a cause of "deep disappointment and absolute rejection" in Moscow.
