The senior Russian military official at the embassy in Washington was kicked out of the association of top international military officers in the US capital in a recent vote because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, APA reports citing CNN.
At the request of the Ukrainian embassy’s defense attaché, a vote was held by the Defense Attachés’ Association and a majority voted to expel Russian Major General Evgeny Bobkin from the group, three European defense officials in Washington told CNN.
As defense attaché, Bobkin is the most senior Russian military officer stationed in the United States. The role is to essentially serve as a military diplomat, acting as a go-between with the Pentagon and other military, diplomatic and political officials in Washington.
His expulsion from the DAA, whose dean is selected by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, will have no bearing on Bobkin’s official presence in Washington but is yet another example of the effort to isolate and punish Russia for its aggression against Ukraine.
“For us it was mission accomplished. We cannot let them play how they want,” a defense attaché from a NATO country said. “You cannot have in your midst the representative of a country that is not respecting any international agreements, that is [ignoring] human rights.”
The vote by secret ballot was held last week at the Canadian embassy. Notably absent from the special vote were officials from African and Middle East countries, in addition to the more predictable absences of China and most former Soviet countries (except for Kazakhstan and the Baltics). Nevertheless, the necessary quorum was reached and around 60 countries voted with most voting to expel Russia’s attaché, officials in attendance said.
A person who answered the phone in the Russian defense attaché’s office quickly hung up and the embassy press office did not respond to a request for comment.
The DAA serves as a professional and social organization for defense attachés and their spouses. Bobkin wrote in a blistering letter obtained by CNN that the effort mounted by his Ukrainian counterpart was “impregnated with hate towards Russia.” Attempting to pre-empt the vote, Bobkin said Russia would withdraw from the association “till the organization is cleared from Nazis.”
“Everyone who vote[s] against Russia will give his voice for Nazi regime and for the country which tolerated revival of Nazism and genocide of its people,” Bobkin concluded in his response with, echoing President Vladimir Putin’s claim that the war he launched is intended to “denazify” Ukraine.
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