The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia declared persona non grata the military attaché of the British Embassy in Moscow Adrian Coghill and ordered him to leave the country within a week. This was reported in the press service of the Foreign Ministry.
The Russian Foreign Ministry specified that the expulsion of Coghill is a “retaliatory step” to a similar action of Great Britain. The expulsion of Colonel Maxim Yelovik, Russian military attaché, from London became known on May 8.
British Home Secretary James Cleverly said that the attaché is an “undeclared military intelligence officer” and his expulsion is a response to “Russia's malicious activities in the UK and Europe.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that it considered the actions of the British side “unfriendly and groundless.”
Commenting on the report on the expulsion of the Russian attaché, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow would give an “adequate response.”
In addition, London intends to introduce restrictions on the issuance of visas to Russian diplomats and reduce the period of their stay in the UK.
Such measures, said James Cleverly, are the result of “Russia's malicious activities in the UK and Europe.”
In April, five people in the UK were accused of conducting “hostile activities on behalf of Russia.” According to the Crown Prosecution Service, they in particular planned to set fire to a commercial facility linked to Ukraine.
