U.K. Will Expel Russian Defense Attache Over 'Malign Activity'

Britain will expel Russia's defense attache, remove diplomatic status from some properties, and limit the length of Russian diplomatic visas in response to what Home Secretary James Cleverly called Moscow's "malign activity," including an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business allegedly orchestrated by the Kremlin. Addressing Parliament on May 8, Cleverly said Britain was already "an extremely challenging operating environment for Russian intelligence services" but the measures would "only serve to strengthen our resilience to the Russian threat." Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said British allegations of Russian involvement in the arson attack were absurd and part of an information war.