Russia Boots 6 UK Diplomats for Spying

Britain denies espionage accusations, calling them 'completely baseless'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 13, 2024 6:32 AM CDT
Russia Expels 6 UK Diplomats Over 'Subversive Activities'
A view of the British Embassy building, center, in Moscow on Friday, with the Russian Foreign Ministry building on the right.   (AP Photo)

Russia on Friday accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them, an announcement that comes as tensions between Moscow and the West grow during an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the US and Britain to strike Russia. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Friday that a decision was made to withdraw the diplomats' accreditations, and Russian state TV quoted an official from the FSB as saying a decision was made to expel them. The UK said the expulsions took place last month, reports the AP.

The FSB said it received documents indicating that the diplomats were sent to Russia by a division of the UK Foreign Office, "whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country," and that they were involved in "intelligence-gathering and subversive activities." The Russian Foreign Ministry warned that if other diplomats are found to be carrying out "similar actions," the agency "will demand early termination of their missions" to Russia. Russian state TV said in a report that the six diplomats had met with independent media and rights groups that have been declared "foreign agents"—a label the Russian authorities have actively used against organizations and individuals critical of the Kremlin.

Britain called the allegations against the diplomats "completely baseless" and said the expulsions happened weeks ago, linking them to Britain's decision in May to revoke the credentials of an attache at Moscow's London Embassy and to impose a five-year time limit on all Russian diplomats in Britain. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said breaking off diplomatic relations with the UK is not on the table right now. The move comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Washington for talks with President Biden that will include Ukraine's request to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia—the approval of which Vladimir Putin has warned could lead to war.

(More Russia stories.)

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