Russia Expels US Diplomat Izzy Conn
The diplomatic chill just got colder. Russia’s Foreign Ministry has expelled US diplomat Izzy Conn, declaring the second secretary of the US embassy’s political section “persona non grata” and giving her seven days to leave the country. It’s a move that feels ripped from a Cold War script, but it’s playing out today amid the very real conflict in Ukraine.
Moscow’s justification is predictable. The Kremlin accused Conn of “activities incompatible with her diplomatic status,” a well-worn euphemism for espionage that signals a severe breach in diplomatic protocol. The expulsion, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry, is directly linked to an ongoing case against a Russian national, Robert Shonov, who was arrested earlier this year by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The FSB alleges Conn was acting as a handler for Shonov. Russia’s security service claims she was tasking him with collecting sensitive information. The list of alleged topics, per a video released by state media, included Russia’s “special military operation,” the domestic political mood ahead of presidential elections, and the impact of the country’s partial mobilization on protest activity. This wasn’t a subtle accusation. It was a televised one.
The US Ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and told of the decision, which Moscow framed as a direct consequence of Conn’s alleged illegal activities.
But who is Robert Shonov? He’s not a random contact. Shonov, a Russian citizen, was an employee of the US consulate in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok for more than 25 years. When the US was forced to scale down its diplomatic presence there in 2021, Shonov transitioned to a role as a contractor for a company that provides services to the US embassy in Moscow. His long history with the US diplomatic mission makes him a prime target for Russian counterintelligence looking to exert pressure.
Washington’s response was swift. The State Department immediately fired back, with spokesperson Matthew Miller calling the allegations against Conn “wholly without merit.” The US position is that Shonov’s work was entirely above board. He was, according to the State Department, engaged in the mundane task of compiling media summaries from publicly available Russian press sources, a standard activity at virtually every embassy on the planet.
So this isn’t really just about Izzy Conn or Robert Shonov. It’s about signaling. By targeting a diplomat from the embassy’s political section—the unit responsible for analyzing and reporting on domestic Russian politics—the Kremlin is deliberately trying to blind its adversary. It’s a direct blow to the intelligence-gathering ecosystem that Western embassies rely on for ground truth, forcing them to deploy resources in new, and often riskier, ways. The move effectively degrades the US’s ability to get a feel for the political atmosphere inside Russia at a critical time.
This isn’t happening in a vacuum. The expulsion is a classic tit-for-tat maneuver in a relationship that has completely broken down. It’s a strategic choice by Moscow to demonstrate that it will not be isolated and will respond asymmetrically to sanctions and military support for Ukraine. The public nature of the announcement, complete with the FSB’s video evidence, is designed for a domestic audience as much as an international one, portraying a vigilant state thwarting American interference.
A reciprocal move is almost certain. The unwritten rules of diplomacy demand it. Washington will now be reviewing the list of Russian diplomats stationed in the US, deciding who to send packing in response. This cycle of expulsions further hollows out diplomatic channels, leaving fewer and fewer formal lines of communication open between the two nuclear powers.
The State Department has already warned American citizens to avoid travel to Russia and for those residing there to depart immediately. The department’s statement on Conn’s expulsion reiterated that the Kremlin’s actions create a climate of harassment against its personnel. The US has not yet specified which Russian diplomats in Washington will be ordered to leave, but an announcement is expected within days.
