Russia opens criminal case over alleged assault involving Brit embassy employee

8/2/2025 11:40

Russian police have opened a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a freelance journalist by a person believed to be an employee of the British embassy, the Russian interior ministry said on Friday.



It said the journalist, a 23-year-old woman, had complained to police that she had suffered "physical and moral injury" in the alleged incident at Moscow's Vnukovo airport while trying to interview British diplomats arriving there.



The ministry said, "While the journalist was performing her professional duties, an unknown man, presumably an employee of the British Embassy in the Russian Federation, who was meeting the delegation, pushed her, causing the girl to lose her balance."



It said the British embassy had ignored a police request to identify the alleged offender and provide information about his diplomatic status. The ministry added, Russian authorities would work to ensure that the person concerned was punished, irrespective of their status and nationality.



Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said the incident was "nothing more than an interference operation designed to intimidate legitimate diplomats, degrade the UK's international reputation, and distract from Russia's flagrant and repeated disregard for international law.