Ukraine: Russia ‘expels’ 6 British diplomats as tensions mount over missiles

Virendra Pandit

New Delhi: Amid Track II diplomatic efforts for a potential ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, who have been fighting an inconclusive war since February 2022, Moscow on Friday announced the expulsion of six British diplomats from the country, accusing them of engaging in espionage and sabotage work, the media reported.

However, the British Foreign Office, denying the accusations as baseless, said that the six had already left Russia in August, after Moscow’s notification to London about its decision early that month. That came after Britain said in May 2024 that it was expelling a Russian defense attaché as an undeclared military intelligence officer and that it was imposing other restrictions on the Russian Embassy in London.

The Russian Federal Security Service, or F.S.B., said the decision was made in response to “the numerous unfriendly steps taken by London,” a possible reference to signals from Britain that it was willing to allow Ukraine to use its “Storm Shadow” long-range missiles against targets deep inside Russia. These missiles have caused significant damage in Russia.

At the time, Moscow responded by ordering the British defense attaché to leave Russia. The tit-for-tat exchange came amid the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, and the timing of the Russian announcement on Friday coincided with Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip to Washington on Friday for his first official visit there as the newly-elected British Prime Minister.

On Thursday, about the potential shift in the use of missiles, President Vladimir Putin warned that such a decision would mean that NATO countries were “at war with Russia” and that it would “clearly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict.”

On Friday, the Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, told reporters that Putin’s statement was “very important” and that the Russian government had “no doubt” that the message “had reached its addressees.”

The F.S.B., the main successor agency to the dreaded Soviet-era spy outfit, K.G.B., said the six expelled diplomats had been sent to Russia by the British foreign service directorate responsible for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine (on February 24, 2022), the agency’s statement said, the British directorate has turned into “a special service, whose main task is to inflict strategic defeat” on Russia.

The F.S.B. said that the activities of the six diplomats were “threatening” to Russia’s security and that “signs of spying and sabotage” had been detected in their work.

In a statement, the British Foreign Office said, “The Russian authorities revoked the diplomatic accreditation of six U.K. diplomats in Russia last month, following action taken by the U.K. government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and the U.K.” It added, “We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.”

Maria V. Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said her ministry supported the F.S.B.’s decision as the six British diplomats were engaged in “subversive work aimed at harming” Russian people. In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it could expel more British diplomats should they engage in similar activities.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said on Friday that there was “no talk” about a complete closure of the British Embassy in the Russian capital.

Russian state television showed pictures of the six diplomats and identified them, although the names have not been confirmed. The diplomats had met with Russian civil society activists, the TV report said.

In 2018, Russia expelled 23 British diplomats and shut down the British Council, an organization devoted to international cultural and educational opportunities, in the country, after London sent home the same number of Russian diplomats. That came amid a diplomatic crisis touched off by a nerve agent attack in Britain against a Russian former intelligence agent.

While Moscow and London have shared hostility toward each other for years, the relationship worsened after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Britain is habitually portrayed by the Russian state television as among the most aggressive and Russophobic states in the West.