Russia has expelled six British diplomats, accusing them of espionage and involvement in efforts to destabilize the country, according to a statement from the Federal Security Service (FSB) on Friday.
The FSB claimed that the United Kingdom has been actively engaged in escalating global tensions and undermining Russia’s internal stability.
In a statement, the FSB said it had obtained “documents confirming London’s coordination of the escalation of the international military-political situation.”
The agency further accused the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate (EECAD) of spearheading “subversive policies” aimed at delivering a “strategic defeat” to Russia.
The FSB noted that after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the EECAD transformed into an intelligence service working against Moscow, which led to the conclusion that British diplomats operating under its umbrella posed a “security threat.”
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in collaboration with other departments, revoked the accreditation of six employees from the British Embassy’s political department in Moscow.
Officials stated that these diplomats had engaged in activities “showing signs of intelligence and subversive work” and demanded the early termination of their missions in Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova supported the FSB’s assessment, telling TASS that British diplomats had been involved in “actions aimed at harming our people.”
The British government has yet to respond to the allegations.
Relations between Russia and the UK have reached historic lows since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict, with both nations engaging in multiple rounds of diplomatic expulsions and sanctions.
In February, the FSB also accused the British Council, a UK cultural organization, of gathering intelligence for Ukraine by using refugees in the UK to obtain military and political information from contacts in Russia’s Kherson Region.
