Russia expels British defense attaché in a tit-for-tat move

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia has declared Britain’s defense attaché persona non grata and gave the diplomat a week to leave the country in response to London’s decision to expel the Russian defense attaché earlier this month over spying allegations. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday that it summoned a representative of the British Embassy in Moscow to express its “strong protest in connection with the unfriendly and groundless decision” to expel the Russian attaché from London. Britain on May 8 announced several measures to target Moscow’s intelligence gathering operations in the U.K., including booting Russian Col. Maxim Elovik. In response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced the expelling of British attaché Adrian Coghill, and vowed “further retaliatory steps.”