U.S. ENVOY LEAVES MOSCOW AT KREMLIN'S SUGGESTION

The U.S. ambassador to Russia is returning to Washington for “consultations” after the Kremlin suggested he do so. It comes after Moscow recalled its own ambassador to Washington last month and the imposition of sweeping new sanctions on Russia by President Joe Biden last week. John Sullivan, a Trump appointee, said: “I believe it is important for me to speak directly with my new colleagues in the Biden administration in Washington about the current state of bilateral relations.”

It came as Russia deployed an unprecedented number of navy vessels from its Caspian Sea flotilla to the strategic sea between Crimea and Ukraine in a bid to establish “total maritime domination” in the region, according to a Ukrainian warning.