Matching US Sanctions, Russia Expels 10 American Diplomats

MOSCOW - Russia announced late Friday it will expel 10 U.S. diplomats from Moscow in a tit-for-tat response to Washington's decision to send 10 Russian diplomats packing under a wide-ranging U.S. sanctions package levied against Moscow earlier this week.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced the retaliatory moves during a press conference with his Serbian counterpart in Moscow. "Ten diplomats were included in the list that was sent to us with a request that they leave," said Lavrov in announcing the expulsions. "We will respond to this measure in kind." In statements to its official website, Russia's Foreign Ministry laid out additional measures, including barring eight high-ranking U.S. officials — among them Attorney General Merrick Garland, Biden's chief Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice, and FBI Director Christopher Wray — from travel to Russia.