UPDATE: Russia says it will retaliate for the United States and 14 European nations expelling Russian diplomats.
The moves were the most sweeping coordinated diplomatic action by the U.S. and its allies against Russia in years.
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“This unfriendly step by this group of countries won’t pass without impact and we will respond,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a website statement, accusing the U.K.’s allies of “blindly following the principle of Euro-Atlantic unity.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the moves “mistaken” and said Russia’s response “will be guided by the principle of reciprocity.” President Vladimir Putin will make the final decision on retaliation, he said.
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The Russian embassy in Washington later posted a tweet asking followers to vote on which U.S. consulate in Russia should be shut down in retaliation for the order to close its premises in Seattle.
Russia Vows to Retaliate After U.S., Europe Expel Diplomats (Bloomberg Politics)
President Trump has ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle in line with the recommendations of his National Security Council and in solidarity with U.S. allies in response to Russia's nerve agent attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England on March 4th.
The White House issued a formal statement on the decision.
CNN:
Of those being expelled, 48 of the alleged intelligence agents work at the Russian embassy in Washington and 12 are posted at the United Nations in New York, senior administration officials said. The US is taking the action after joining the United Kingdom in accusing Russia of being behind the attempted murder earlier this month of a former Russian spy living in the United Kingdom.
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The consulate closure and the expulsion of dozens of diplomats came on the heels of the UK's expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats. Fourteen European Union member states also moved on Monday to expel Russian diplomats, European Council President Donald Tusk said.
"Additional measures, including further expulsions ... are not to be excluded in the coming days and weeks," said Tusk, speaking in Varna, Bulgaria.
The Russian operatives being expelled will be given seven days to leave the country, according to senior administration officials.
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"It's been three weeks since the attack, and we're looking at this point at more than a dozen allies who are acting in coordination with us," the official noted. "That takes time and it needed to be done the right way, so I think the way that we've gone about it is the way it needed to be handled."
The countries, both inside and outside of the EU, include: Canada, Germany, Poland and France will expel four Russian diplomats each; Italy, Spain, Denmark and the Netherlands will expel two each; Lithuania will expel three and ban 44 people from entering the country; Ukraine will expel 13; the Czech Republic will expel three and Estonia will expel Russia's defense attache. Latvia, Romania, Croatia, and Hungary are also expected to expel at least one diplomat.
More: These are all the countries that are expelling Russian diplomats (CNN)
The expulsions are the second in less than two years. In December of 2016 President Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats and intelligence officials and shut down two diplomatic compounds in response to Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election.
Trump expelling 60 Russian diplomats in wake of UK nerve agent attack (CNN)
US expels 60 Russian intelligence officers in response to ex-spy's poisoning (ABC)
14 EU countries punish Russia for nerve agent attack in U.K. (Axios)