London has announced the expulsion of Russian defense attaché Adrian Coghill, citing a malicious act from Russia. The move was in response to similar action taken by Moscow last week. Coghill, who serves at the British embassy in Moscow, has been declared persona non grata and must leave the Russian Federation within a week.
Russia responded with anger, labeling the British actions as politically motivated and damaging to bilateral relations. The Foreign Ministry warned that their response would not stop at expelling Coghill and that further retaliation was forthcoming. A representative from the British embassy in Moscow was summoned to deliver this message. However, British officials have not commented on Russia’s decision yet.
The UK has imposed sanctions on Russian entities since Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine began in February 2022, with Minister Cleverly stating that the government stands firm in its support for Ukraine. NATO members have expressed deep concerns over recent activities believed to originate from Russia, affecting several countries including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the UK. In April, a British man was accused of conducting hostile acts on behalf of Russia, including recruiting individuals to set fire to a Ukrainian-related commercial facility in London. Russia denied these accusations calling them absurd and part of an information warfare operation.
