Russia expels 6 British diplomats for 'subversive activities'
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Britain of being actively involved in activities that increase global tensions and undermine Russia's stability. It also announced that Moscow had revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats for allegedly engaging in espionage.
In a statement on September 13, the FSB said it had obtained documents confirming London’s coordination in escalating the international military-political situation. Britain also supported “subversive policies” in Russia aimed at causing the country’s strategic defeat, and these efforts were carried out by the Foreign Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Steering Committee (EECAD).
According to the FSB, after the conflict in Ukraine began, EECAD essentially turned into a special agency working against Moscow, meaning that Russia considered the activities of British diplomats working under the office a security threat.
In response to the hostile actions of the UK, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the relevant agencies, has terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political section of the British Embassy in Moscow, whose actions bear the hallmarks of intelligence and subversive activities. Russian officials added that Russia will demand an early termination of their missions in the country.
Speaking to TASS, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova fully supported the FSB's assessment, saying that British diplomats in Russia were indeed involved in actions aimed at harming the Russian people.
The British government has yet to respond to these allegations.
Relations between Russia and the UK have hit an all-time low since the start of the Ukraine conflict, with the two countries repeatedly expelling each other's diplomats and imposing sanctions.
In February, the FSB also accused the British Council, a British state-funded cultural organization, of gathering intelligence for Kiev by using Ukrainian refugees living in the UK to gather military and political information through contacts in the Kherson region.
