The ministry said the two diplomats - Jeff Sillin, the embassy's first secretary, and David Bernstein, the second secretary - conducted "illegal activities by liaising with a Russian citizen, (Robert) Shonov" and must leave Russian territory within seven days.

Shonov, who worked for the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok, was charged with allegedly passing information about the conflict in Ukraine to American diplomats, a claim the U.S. has rejected.

The expulsions come amid a worsening of relations between the U.S. and Russia over the war in Ukraine. The U.S. has imposed a number of sanctions on Russia in response to the invasion, and Russia has retaliated by expelling American diplomats and imposing its own sanctions. (ILKHA)