Calling the situation in Syria's Eastern Ghouta "a travesty," US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley admonished the Russian government Tuesday for "deception, hypocrisy and brutality" on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad.
The Russian government is threatening retaliation over one of the largest mass expulsions of its diplomats in history after more than 20 countries, including the United States, backed action by the UK over the poisoning of a former Russian spy in southern England.
The Russian embassy in Washington asked its Twitter followers to vote for which US consulate they'd like to see shuttered Monday, after the Trump administration announced it would close down the Russian consulate in Seattle and expel 60 alleged spies throughout the country.
The Trump White House is coming down harder than ever before on Russia, booting out 60 diplomats and standing firm with Western allies after an alleged Russian nerve gas attack on one of its former spies in Britain.