MOSCOW (Reuters), – Russia’s Ambassador to the United States stated that another 27 Russian diplomats were being expelled and their families would be leaving the country on January 30.

“Our diplomats have been expelled…A large amount of my colleagues, 27 people with children, will leave us at January 30… There is a severe staff shortfall,” Anatoly Anatoly Anatoly said during a video interview on Soloviev Live Youtube channel. It aired late Saturday.

Russia previously stated that more than 100 diplomats from Russia with their families were forced to flee the United States in 2016 as the relations between the two countries deteriorated.

Maria Zakharova (Foreign Ministry spokesperson) said that nearly 200 Russian diplomats remained in Washington as of Oct. 29. These included those working for the Russian mission in the United Nations.

Last month, President Joe Biden’s administration stated that after 1,200 people were expelled and restricted in the early 2017, the U.S. Embassy in Russia staff had been reduced to 120. This was in spite of having a number of caretaker personnel at the embassy.

Moscow, USA Embassy stopped accepting non-diplomatic visas and included Russians on a “homeless” list that can be applied for visas in other countries.