Russia expels UK defence attache in retaliatory move

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MOSCOW: Russia said on Thursday it was expelling the British defence attache and promised further, unspecified retaliation after Britain threw out his Russian counterpart last week.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned a British embassy representative to inform them of the move. On May 8, Britain announced it was ordering out the Russian defence attache, describing him as an undeclared military intelligence officer.

The Russian statement said Moscow viewed that as “a politically motivated action with a clearly expressed Russophobic character, which deals irreparable damage to bilateral relations”.