Russia expels six British diplomats accused of espionage

Russia on Friday accused six British diplomats of espionage and said it had decided to expel them. Britain said the “completely baseless” move was made weeks ago and was linked to the country's decision in May to strip a Russian embassy attaché of his credentials and to restrict Moscow's diplomatic activities in London.

The most recent tensions between East and West unfolded when Britain Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Washington for talks that will also address Ukraine's request to use Western weapons to attack targets in Russia. President Vladimir Putin has warned that Kiev's use of long-range weapons would plunge NATO into war with Moscow.

Russia's domestic intelligence agency, the FSB, said in an online statement that the Foreign Ministry had withdrawn the British envoys' accreditations. An FSB official was quoted on Russian television as saying that a decision had been made to expel the envoys.

The FSB said it had received documents suggesting the diplomats had been sent to Russia by a British Foreign Office department “whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country” and that they had been involved in “intelligence and subversive activities.” The identities of the six diplomats were not disclosed.

The FSB warned that it would demand “the early termination of their missions” in Russia if other diplomats were found to be carrying out “similar actions.”

Russian television reported that the six diplomats met with independent media and human rights groups that had been declared “foreign agents” – a term that Russian authorities actively use against organizations and individuals critical of the Kremlin.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the diplomats had carried out “subversive actions aimed at harming our people.”

“We fully agree with the assessment of the Russian FSB regarding the activities of the British so-called diplomats,” she added in an online statement. “The British Embassy has far exceeded the limits set by the Vienna Conventions.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that breaking off diplomatic relations with Britain was not currently under discussion.

The British Foreign Office called the Russian allegations “completely baseless” and said the expulsions had taken place weeks ago. It linked them to Britain's decision in May to strip an attaché at Moscow's embassy in London of its legitimacy and to impose a five-year residency restriction on all Russian diplomats in Britain.

“Russian authorities withdrew the diplomatic accreditation of six British diplomats in Russia last month following actions taken by the British government in response to Russian state-directed activities across Europe and the UK,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. “We have no regrets as we protect our national interests.”

In May, Britain expelled Russia's defence attaché in London, on the grounds that he was an undeclared intelligence agent, and it closed several Russian diplomatic properties in Britain that were allegedly being used for espionage purposes. About a week later Russia responded by expelling the British defence attaché.

Since the beginning of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, expulsions of diplomats – both Western envoys working in Russia and Russians in the West – have become increasingly frequent.

Last year, Russian news portal RBC counted that Western countries and Japan expelled a total of 670 Russian diplomats between early 2022 and October 2023, while Moscow responded by expelling 346 diplomats. According to RBC, that was more than in the last 20 years combined.

On his way to his visit to the USA, Starmer said that Britain was “not seeking conflict with Russia”.

“Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict immediately,” he told reporters.

“Ukraine has the right to self-defence and we, of course, fully support this right of Ukraine – we provide, as you know, training capacities. But we do not seek conflict with Russia – that is not our intention in the slightest,” he said.

Ukraine wants authorization to use certain weapons to penetrate deeper into Russia, and there are signs that President Joe Biden may change U.S. policy in response.

Although the issue is expected to be high on the agenda of their meeting, it seems unlikely that Biden and Starmer would announce any policy changes at this stage, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning of the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private deliberations.

Ukrainian officials renewed calls to use Western-supplied long-range missiles against targets deeper inside Russia. the visit to Kyiv this week by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

Blinken said he had “no doubt” Biden and Starmer would discuss the matter during their visit, noting that the United States had adapted to Russia's changing strategy on the battlefield and would “make adjustments as needed.”

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Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia, and Lawless reported from London. Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.