Russia has accused six British diplomats of espionage and has decided to expel them. The United Kingdom dismissed the allegations as “completely baseless” and linked the move to its previous decision to revoke the credentials of a Russian Embassy attaché in May, as well as restrict Moscow’s diplomatic activities in London.
These developments come amidst rising tensions between East and West, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer currently in Washington for discussions that are anticipated to include Ukraine’s request to use Western-supplied weapons to target locations within Russia. President Vladimir Putin has warned that such actions could lead to NATO being at war with Moscow.
Russia’s Federal Security Service announced the withdrawal of the British envoys’ accreditations, citing their involvement in “intelligence-gathering and subversive activities.” The FSB stated that these diplomats were part of a division of the UK’s Foreign Office with the primary objective of undermining Russia.
The FSB cautioned that if other diplomats are found to be engaged in similar activities, they will demand the termination of their missions to Russia. The expelled diplomats were reported to have interacted with independent media and rights groups in Russia labeled as “foreign agents” by Russian authorities.
The British Foreign Office asserted that the expulsions of their diplomats occurred weeks ago, following the UK government’s actions related to Russian state-directed activities across Europe and the UK. They emphasized the importance of safeguarding national interests.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the expulsion of diplomats, both from the West working in Russia and Russians in Western countries, has become more frequent. Last year, Western countries and Japan expelled a total of 670 Russian diplomats, while Moscow retaliated by expelling 346 diplomats according to Russian news outlet RBC.
On his way to the US, Prime Minister Starmer emphasized that Britain does not seek conflict with Russia, attributing the ongoing conflict to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s requests to use long-range missiles against deeper targets in Russia were discussed during visits by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Kyiv this week. President Biden and Prime Minister Starmer were expected to address this issue during their meeting, though no immediate policy changes were anticipated.
