Russia expels UK defence attache from Moscow in a tit-for-tat move

Apartments in Belogrod that collapsed after the explosion. Pics/X

As a tit-for-tat response to 'unfriendly acts by the UK,' Russia on Thursday removed UK defence attaché Adrian Coghill from Moscow, according to a statement made by the Russian Foreign Minister, which was cited by the Russian news agency TASS. This came in response to the UK decision on May 8 to expel Russia's defence attache, whom the UK accused of being an "undeclared military intelligence officer," and to remove diplomatic status from the Russian-owned Seacox Heath property in Sussex and the Russian embassy's trade and defence section in Highgate. Along with these additional limitations, the UK also extended the period of stay that Russian diplomats are permitted to enter the nation on diplomatic visas.

Per an ANI report, the ministry claims that on May 16, it called a representative of the UK Embassy and sent him a protest on the unfavourable decision that that nation's government made on May 8 regarding the defence attaché at the Russian Embassy in London. "The British diplomat was informed that, in response to the said decision, the defence attache at the UK Embassy in Moscow, Adrian Coghill, is declared persona non grata. He must leave the territory of the Russian Federation within a week," the ministry said.

"Our reaction to the UK's anti-Russian actions, which were announced on May 8, is not limited to this measure. The instigators of the escalation will be informed about further response steps," the ministry said. TASS reported that the ministry also said Moscow regards London's unfriendly move "as a politically motivated action of a clear-cut Russophobic nature, which causes irreparable damage to bilateral relations."

UK Secretary of Defence Grant Shapps called Russia's expulsion of Coghill "a desperate move," Al Jazeera reported. "Whilst Russia's DA in the UK was acting as a spy, Putin's only issue with ours was that they personified the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine," Shapps said. On May 8, the UK announced several measures to target Moscow's intelligence-gathering operations in the United Kingdom. Those included expelling Maxim Elovik, a Russian colonel whom the British government termed an "undeclared military intelligence officer," rescinding the diplomatic status of several Russian-owned properties because they are believed to have been used for intelligence purposes, and imposing new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits, Al Jazeera reported.

The government said that the actions were a response to criminal trials in London concerning alleged Russian espionage and sabotage. It further quoted claims that the Russian government engaged in cyber- and misinformation activities, violated air space, jammed GPS signals to impede civilian aviation traffic, planned to disrupt military aid for Ukraine in Germany and Poland and conducted espionage in Bulgaria and Italy. Russia and the UK have had a tense relationship for many years, with the UK accusing Russian agents of espionage and targeted killings, including breaches against British lawmakers and the leakage and escalation of sensitive information to further Russian goals, according to Al Jazeera. Following Russia's military incursion into Ukraine, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on numerous affluent Russian individuals and took steps to curb the laundering of money via London's real estate and banking sectors.

(With Inputs from ANI)