Photo taken on April 16, 2021 shows the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia in Moscow. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

Russia said Wednesday that it is expelling U.S. diplomats in response to Washington's recent expulsion of Russian diplomats from the United Nations (UN).

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it summoned a senior diplomat of the U.S. embassy in Moscow on Wednesday and declared a list of American diplomats "persona non grata."

The U.S. side was told that any hostile actions against Russia will receive a decisive and adequate response, it said.

The ministry did not disclose how many U.S. diplomats are targeted and the deadline of their departure.

The United States on Feb. 28 announced the expulsion of 12 staff members of the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN in New York and a Russian national working with the UN Secretariat.