WASHINGTON: Russia has expelled several American diplomats from the US Embassy in Moscow and declared them "persona non grata", a State Department spokesperson has said, days after the US ousted Russian staff at the United Nations.
Earlier this month, the US expelled 12 diplomats from Russia's mission to the UN, saying they engaged in "espionage activities".
The move was described by Russia as a "hostile action" and gross violation of the commitments by the US as the host country of the United Nations headquarters.
"We can confirm that the US Embassy received a list of diplomats declared "persona non grata" from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on March 23," a State Department spokesperson said on Wednesday.
After the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the war of words and sanctions have intensified between the two countries.
The US has imposed severe sanctions against Russia.
This includes individual and economic.
Russia too has imposed sanctions against US officials, including President Joe Biden.
"This is Russia's latest unhelpful and unproductive step in our bilateral relationship. We call on the Russian government to end its unjustified expulsions of US diplomats and staff," the spokesperson said.
"Now more than ever, it is critical that our countries have the necessary diplomatic personnel in place to facilitate communication between our governments," the spokesperson said.
Russian military forces, led by President Vladimir Putin, have committed war crimes in Ukraine by hitting civilian targets and have unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across the war-torn country, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.
On February 24, Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine, three days after Moscow recognised Ukraine's breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent entities.
Russian troops have targeted areas where civilians are present, including apartment buildings, schools and hospitals.
"Today, I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia's forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine," Blinken said Wednesday.
"Our assessment is based on a careful review of available information from public and intelligence sources. As with any alleged crime, a court of law with jurisdiction over the crime is ultimately responsible for determining criminal guilt in specific cases," he said.
"Since launching his unprovoked and unjust war of choice, Russian President Vladimir Putin has unleashed unrelenting violence that has caused death and destruction across Ukraine," he said.
"We've seen numerous credible reports of indiscriminate attacks and attacks deliberately targeting civilians, as well as other atrocities. Russia's forces have destroyed apartment buildings, schools, hospitals, critical infrastructure, civilian vehicles, shopping centers, and ambulances, leaving thousands of innocent civilians killed or wounded," Blinken said.
Blinken alleged that every day that Russia's forces continue their brutal attacks, the number of innocent civilians killed and wounded, including women and children, climbs.
This announcement comes a week after Joe Biden's off-the-cuff remark that he considered Putin a war criminal, triggering an official protest from the Kremlin, which warned that the comment could cause a breach in bilateral relations.
As of March 22, officials in besieged Mariupol said that more than 2,400 civilians had been killed in that city alone.
Not including the Mariupol devastation, the United Nations has officially confirmed more than 2,500 civilian casualties, including dead and wounded, and emphasised the actual toll is likely higher, he said.
Later Beth Van Schaack, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice, told reporters that the US Government will continue to track reports coming out of Ukraine of war crimes, and will share this information with friends and allies and with international and multilateral institutions, as appropriate.
"We are also supporting the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office and their war crimes directorate, and supporting civil society documentation efforts," she said.
Responding to a question, she said the United States is going to be considering all the options that are available to it, including domestic courts.
"Obviously, we have the courts in Ukraine itself as the territorial state, and the prosecutor general's office does have a war crimes directorate. Some funding from the Office of Global Criminal Justice is supporting efforts to build capacity within that office and help them do these cases ultimately if and when they have custody over particular perpetrators," she said.
"In addition, third states within the region who may gain custody over perpetrators or potentially be able to do in absentia trials would have jurisdiction over war crimes committed within Ukraine. And then we welcomed the fact that the new incoming prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has also opened an investigation into the situation within Ukraine," she added.
On March 3, the International Criminal Court prosecutor launched an investigation that could target senior officials believed responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide amid a rising civilian death toll and widespread destruction of property during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.