Russia blames White House for reports of school closure

Russia is blaming the White House for what it says are fabricated reports of it closing a Moscow school chartered in part by the U.S. Embassy.

“U.S. officials ‘anonymously informed’ their media that Russia closed the Anglo-American School in Moscow as a retaliatory measure,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on her Facebook Friday, as translated by Tass.

“That’s a lie. Apparently, the White House has completely lost its senses and begun inventing sanctions against its own children. You should not write, ‘Moscow denied…,’ ‘Moscow will not….’ Write as it is: ‘The CNN TV channel and other Western media have again spread false information citing official American sources.’ “

{mosads}CNN on Thursday reported Russia had closed the Anglo-American School of Moscow as retribution for U.S. sanctions.

The school is chartered by the American, Canadian and British embassies in Moscow and has about 1,250 students from 60 countries, according to its website.

The school closure was reported to be part of Russia’s retaliation after President Obama on Thursday unveiled a series of measures aimed at Russia.

Obama expelled 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the U.S., shuttered Russian compounds in Maryland and New York, and announced a slate of economic sanctions, diplomatic censure, public “naming and shaming,” and the possibility of covert cyber acts.

The U.S. intelligence community in October blamed Russia for hacks of Democratic operatives and organizations, which led to a series of private email leaks.

A secret CIA assessment reportedly concluded that the Kremlin interfered in the 2016 presidential election specifically to get President-elect Donald Trump in the White House.

Russia has denied any involvement in the hacks or the election, and Trump has insisted there’s no evidence of interference.