Russia Expels Italian Military Attachés in Tit-for-Tat Diplomatic Move

Russia has expelled Italy's military attaché in Moscow, along with one of his colleagues, Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced.

According to Tajani, Moscow took the step "without any grounds." He described Russia's decision as "an obvious act of retaliation" for Italy's earlier expulsion of Russian diplomats from Rome over allegations of espionage.

Russia Calls the Move a Reciprocal Measure

Italy announced the expulsion of two military attachés from the Russian Embassy in Rome on July 9. The Italian Foreign Ministry declined to disclose the reasons behind its decision.

On the evening of July 20, Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned Italy's Chargé d'Affaires in Moscow, Giovanni Scopa. During the meeting, Russian officials informed him that Italian Embassy Military Attaché Vittorio Parrella and his assistant for defense affairs, Davide D'Aprile, had been declared persona non grata. They, along with their family members, were instructed to leave Russia within three days.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the expulsions were a reciprocal response and criticized Tajani's remarks, pointing to what she described as contradictions in his statement.

"So was it 'without any grounds' or 'an act of retaliation'? (…) I wonder if they brief Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in the same way. As if good Italian diplomats were sent home by bad Russia for no reason, while bad Russian diplomats were expelled by Italy for a good reason," Zakharova said.

She also referred to an earlier statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry warning that any hostile actions against Russian diplomats would receive a response from Moscow.

Previous Diplomatic Expulsions

Earlier this year, Austria expelled three Russian diplomats after Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger cited what she described as a "forest of antennas" installed on the roof of the Russian Embassy in Vienna.

According to the Austrian minister, the technical equipment could allegedly be used for espionage activities. "It is unacceptable for diplomatic immunity to be used for espionage," she said.

The Russian Embassy in Vienna condemned the decision, calling the declaration of embassy staff and members of Russia's permanent mission to the OSCE as persona non grata "outrageous." The embassy described the move as politically motivated, unjustified and completely unacceptable, while promising a "firm response" from Moscow.

However, no retaliatory measures were later announced publicly.