Russia Expels British Diplomat Over Espionage Allegations

Russia on December 15 expelled a British diplomat it accused of covert intelligence activity, warning the UK that Moscow would not accept what it described as espionage on Russian soil.

The Federal Security Service, or FSB, said the diplomat, a second secretary at the British embassy in Moscow, was operating undercover for Britain’s intelligence services. Russian authorities said he has been given two weeks to leave the country and state media published images of him.

The Foreign Ministry summoned Britain’s charge d’affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, to deliver a formal protest. In a statement, it said Russia would not tolerate the presence of undeclared British intelligence officers and warned that any escalation by London would prompt a decisive reciprocal response.

Demonstrators outside the ministry shouted anti-British slogans as the charge d’affaires’ diplomatic vehicle arrived.

Relations between Russia and Western countries have deteriorated sharply since the war in Ukraine, with both sides trading accusations of heightened espionage. Moscow claims intelligence agencies from the UK, the US and France have intensified efforts to gather secrets and destabilise the country, allegations the West rejects.