Russia expels military attache to British Embassy

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the decision send from the country’s defense attache to the British Embassy.

Adrian Coghill is due to leave Russia within a week. The Foreign Ministry explained that this is a response to a similar decision by the British authorities.

Earlier, on May 8, the British Foreign Office announced the expulsion of the Russian military attache, who, according to the department, was a military intelligence officer, and the deprivation of the diplomatic status of some real estate properties in the country. Home Secretary James Cleverley described the measures as a response to Russian aggression in Ukraine and Russia’s malign activities in Britain and Europe.

The Russian Embassy in London then stated that the decision would complicate the work of the diplomatic mission. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the decision of the British authorities “a politically motivated action with a pronounced Russophobic character” and promised retaliatory measures.