Grace Palo
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON — (WMAL) A 45-acre compound on Maryland’s Eastern Shore that is owned by Russian officials is being shut down, as a part of the Obama administration’s sanctions against Russia.
According to the White House, two properties are going to be closed, including the one on the Eastern Shore, that have been used to gather intelligence.
In the strongest retaliation against Russia the United States has leveled in decades, the administration sanctioned two Russian intelligence services and gave 35 government officials 72 hours to leave the country.
The administration also denied access to a diplomatic retreat in Queen Anne’s County that U.S. officials said has been used for “intelligence collection activities.”
The site near Centreville was purchased by the Soviet Union in 1972, a State Department official said. It has been widely known for decades that the property belonged to Russian officials and has often been described it as a recreational site for diplomats and their families.
The administration also denied Russian access to a property on Long Island, N.Y. The Obama administration offered no detail or explanation about the intelligence gathering it believes occurred at the sites.
