In a tit-for-tat move, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that it was expelling the UK defence attaché from the country, a week after the British government did the same. A statement by the ministry said the diplomat was summoned and informed that he had been declared "persona non grata."
The development comes a week after the British government announced it would expel a senior Russian diplomat who it claimed was an "undeclared" military intelligence officer. The UK also accused Russia's intelligence wing Federal Security Service (FSB) of indulging in a pattern of "malign activity" in Britain and Europe, including hacking and leaking trade documents relating to the United States, and targeting British lawmakers through malicious email campaigns.
Besides kicking out Maxim Elovik, a Russian colonel, the UK also rescinded the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties, alleging they were being used for intelligence purposes. These included a house in East Sussex that the Russian embassy used as a weekend retreat for its staff and a trade and defence office in London. The UK also imposed new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits.
James Cleverly, the British home secretary, also told Parliament that the government was announcing the retaliatory measures "to make clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations."
Following the move, Russia retaliated and gave British defence attache Capt. Adrian Coghil a week to leave the country. Coghil is a naval officer who had previously served as the assistant attaché in Moscow for over a decade. Moscow had also termed the UK's action as politically motivated, which expressed Russophobic character.
Cameron's remark
The diplomatic row between the two nations worsened after Russia first summoned the British ambassador to lodge its protest over British foreign secretary David Cameron's remarks over Ukraine’s using weapons supplied by Britain to strike Russian territory.
Cameron had said it was up to Ukraine to decide how to use British weapons and insisted it has the right to strike targets on Russian territory. During a visit to Kyiv, he said the UK would provide £3bn ($3.75bn) per year for as long as necessary. Russia had flayed Cameron's remarks calling it "absolutely crazy" and "aggressive". Moscow had also warned London that it could hit back at British military installations and equipment both inside Ukraine and elsewhere if British weapons were used by Ukraine to strike Russian territory.
Britain reacted to this, by stating that Russia’s attempts to undermine U.K. and European security have become increasingly brazen since the Ukraine war.
