The U.S. citizen accosted by a Russian embassy guard in late June 2016 was a CIA officer who had lost Russian security officers who were following him, Politico reports.
The incident sparked widespread outrage at the time after the U.S. government claimed the man was a diplomat assigned to the U.S. Embassy. The man was beaten so badly in the incident, he broke his shoulder and was flown out of the country for medical attention. Video of the incident surfaced online showing an apparent unprovoked attack by the embassy’s Russian security guard.
WATCH:
The citizen was a U.S. CIA officer who had lost his Russian security service’s tail while traversing the city of Moscow, much to the chagrin of his handlers. The security services decided to post a federal security agent outside the Embassy to await his return and send him a message, resulting in the high profile beating.
The incident capped a series of escalating incidents between Russian and U.S. government officials posted in Moscow. During former President Barack Obama’s first term Russian spies broke into the United States defense attache’s home and assassinated his dog, the Washington Post reported in 2016. In another stunning instance, a Russian spy broke into one U.S. diplomat’s house and defecated in the middle of his living room carpet.
“They are far more aggressive on counterintelligence issues in Russia than we are here,” a U.S. intelligence official told Politico. “They agree to rules, and then break them,” another official continued.
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