Russia expels six British diplomats
Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats it claims have been involved in espionage. The Federal Security Service (FSB) accused the UK of being actively involved in escalating global tensions and undermining Russia’s stability.
In a statement on Friday, the FSB said it had obtained “documents confirming London’s coordination of the escalation of the international military-political situation.” Britain has also supported “subversive policies” in Russia in an attempt to inflict a “strategic defeat” on the country, and these efforts have been spearheaded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate (EECAD), the agency added.
According to the FSB, after the start of the Ukraine conflict, the EECAD was essentially transformed into a special service working against Moscow, which means that Russia considers the activities of British diplomats working under the auspices of the office to be a “security threat.”
In light of this and other “hostile steps” by the UK, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with relevant departments, “has terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow, whose actions showed signs of intelligence and subversive work,” officials said, adding that Russia would demand the “early termination of their missions” in the country.
Speaking to TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova fully supported the FSB’s assessment, claiming that British diplomats in Russia have in fact been involved in “actions aimed at harming our people.”
The British authorities have yet to respond to the allegations.
Relations between Russia and the UK have sunk to unprecedented lows since the start of the Ukraine conflict. The two countries have repeatedly expelled each other’s diplomats and imposed sanctions.
In February, the FSB also claimed that the British Council, a UK state-funded cultural organization, had been gathering intelligence for Kiev by “using Ukrainian refugees living in the UK to obtain military and political information through their contacts” in Russia’s Kherson Region.
