MOSCOW – Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it will expel the defense attache at the British Embassy in Moscow in a retaliatory move.

The ministry on Thursday summoned a representative of the British Embassy and expressed strong protest over the United Kingdom announcing the expulsion of the defense attache at the Russian Embassy in London on May 8, it said in a statement.

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"We regard this step as a politically motivated action with a pronounced Russophobic character, causing irreparable damage to bilateral relations," reads the statement.

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The Russian ministry declared the defense attache at the British Embassy in Moscow "persona non grata", it said, adding that the diplomat must leave Russia within a week.