Lynne Tracy served as the United States ambassador to Russia from 2023 to 2025. Tracy stated, "Being the ambassador to Russia was probably the hardest assignment of my career."
The war in Ukraine entered its fifth year on 22 October 2026. Following the start of the conflict in 2022, hundreds of Russian diplomats were expelled from the United States and various European countries.
Moscow declared hundreds of Western diplomats persona non grata in retaliation. Alexei Venediktov noted that Russian officials have effectively banned most of their staff from speaking to Western embassies.
Venediktov added, "You are being misunderstood precisely because of your own actions - because ambassadors cannot do their jobs." In June 2026, pro-Kremlin activists and state-media journalists harassed guests at the British ambassador's residence in Moscow.
Western governments cut off Russian banks from the Swift payment network, while Mastercard and Visa suspended their operations in Russia. Russia banned the hiring of foreign nationals in 2021.
The FSB attempted to recruit two Russian employees at a diplomatic mission. Tracy survived an armed attack in Peshawar in 2008.
Pierre Lévy called Paris to argue that pulling envoys would be a mistake after the invasion. Tracy left Moscow in 2025.
