Russia, on Tuesday (Nov 26) expelled a British diplomat after accusing him of allegedly spying as tensions between London and Moscow increased after Ukraine used British weapons to strike inside Russia.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged that the British diplomat, who worked at the embassy in Moscow, intentionally provided false information to enter the country as a cover for espionage work, “thereby violating Russian law,” Russian-state media TASS reported.
“The Russian FSB has identified signs of intelligence and subversive work by the said diplomat that threatens the security of the Russian Federation,” TASS cited the security service as saying.
Following this, the Russian foreign ministry revoked the British diplomat’s diplomatic accreditation and ordered him to leave the country within two weeks.
“This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff. We will respond in due course,” a British Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement.
The FSB has also claimed that the diplomat was sent to Moscow to “replace” one of six alleged British intelligence officers that Russia expelled this summer.
In August, Russia revoked the accreditation of British diplomats, alleging them of espionage. Britain, in response, labelled the accusations as “completely baseless”.
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The relations between the two nations came to a new low last week after the United Kingdom allowed Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles on targets inside Russia.
Russia bans entry to senior British ministers
Russia on Tuesday (Nov 26) also banned some of the UK’s cabinet ministers from entering the nation in response to what it called London’s “Russophobic” policies.
Those ministers included Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, and Interior Minister Yvette Cooper. Additionally, more than a dozen other senior politicians in the new Labour government were also banned.
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos, and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)