WAR DRUMS: Russia Expels 6 UK Diplomats Over Espionage And ‘Subversive Actions’
Russia’s FSB security service announced on Friday that it had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow.
The agency accused them of spying and sabotage, expressing Moscow’s displeasure with what it sees as London’s critical role in assisting Ukraine.
Britain described the accusations as “completely baseless,” claiming they were a tit-for-tat response to the UK’s expulsion of the Russian defense attaché and the removal of diplomatic status from several Russian properties in May.
Russia announced the expulsions hours before talks in Washington between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden, which were a critical step toward allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles against Russian targets.
UK diplomats engaged in ‘subversive activities’ in Russia – FSB
— RT (@RT_com) September 13, 2024
DETAILS: https://t.co/O4DtVOCLTy pic.twitter.com/5uF42tVs1u
On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin stated that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-made long-range missiles would put the West in direct conflict with Russia.
The Russian president insisted that the move would change the nature and scope of the conflict.
The Kremlin stated on Friday that Putin had delivered a clear and unambiguous message to the West, which it was confident had been received.
Washington and London regard Iran’s delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine, announced by Washington this week, as a dramatic escalation.
This has influenced the speed of talks on Ukraine’s long-range missile use, according to three Western sources. Russia and Iran both denied any such deliveries.
“On the basis of documents provided by the Federal Security Service of Russia and as a response to the numerous unfriendly steps taken by London, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, in co-operation with the agencies concerned, has terminated the accreditation of six members of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow in whose actions signs of spying and sabotage were found,” it said.
Russia kicks out six British Diplomatic staffers who it says were involved in episonage . pic.twitter.com/dGexibrbG0
— Charles Makoni (@Chiefcts) September 13, 2024
Britain dismissed Russian accusations against its diplomats as baseless.
“The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six UK diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK,” a British Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.”
The six British diplomats were named on Russian state television, which also featured photographs of them.
Surveillance footage of them was also made available to Russian media, including covert video surveillance of a British diplomat meeting someone.
“The English did not take our hints about the need to stop this practice (of carrying out intelligence activities inside Russia), so we decided to expel these six to begin with,” an FSB employee whose identity was hidden told the Rossiya-24 state TV channel.
According to the FSB, if other British diplomats are discovered to be engaging in similar activity, Russia will request that they leave early.
According to the FSB, British diplomats recruited Russian teenagers, organized “provocations,” and met with opposition figures at the British ambassador’s Moscow residence.
It accused British diplomats of collaborating with Russian activists to foment divisions in Russian society around various ethnic groups and migrants.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the activities of the British embassy in Moscow had gone well beyond the Vienna diplomatic conventions.
“More importantly, it is not just a question of formality and non-compliance with declared activities, but of subversive actions aimed at damaging our people,” Zakharova said on Telegram.
WAR DRUMS: Russia Expels 6 UK Diplomats Over Espionage And ‘Subversive Actions’
