Russia expels U.S. embassy's second-in-command in Moscow amid Ukraine tensions

Washington — The Russian government expelled the second highest-ranking American official from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, the State Department said, as President Biden warned that the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine remains "very high."

Bart Gorman, the U.S. deputy chief of mission to Russia, was expelled from the Russian capital on Thursday, a State Department spokesperson said.

"Russia's action against [Gorman] was unprovoked and we consider this an escalatory step and are considering our response," the spokesperson said in a statement, raising the prospect of retaliatory expulsions from Russia's embassy in Washington.