U.S. Works to Keep Russia Mission Running With Staff Down 90%
- Diplomatic presence has plunged to about 120 people from 1,200
- U.S.-Russia ties remain tense despite Biden-Putin summit
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The U.S. has cut its diplomatic staff in Russia by about 90% in the last four years, paring back to only the most basic services, according to a senior State Department official, as relations between Washington and Moscow continue to languish.
Consulates in Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok are shuttered, and a Russian decree that the U.S. could no longer employ Russian nationals meant the loss of dozens of staff. The U.S. now employs about 120 people overall, down from 1,200 in early 2017, the official told reporters on customary condition of anonymity.