On November 26, Russia announced its decision to expel a British diplomat, accusing him of espionage.
The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that the diplomat, whose photos were published by Russian media, had intentionally provided false information upon entering Russia.
“At the same time, the FSB found evidence of the diplomat engaging in intelligence and subversive activities that threaten the security of the Russian Federation,” the statement said.
The British Foreign Office has yet to respond, nor has the British Embassy in Moscow.
News agency TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying that the Russian Foreign Ministry had summoned the British ambassador for a meeting.
According to the FSB, the British diplomat had come to Russia to replace one of the six British diplomats who were expelled earlier this year, who were also accused of espionage by Russian authorities.
Relations between the UK and Russia have deteriorated significantly since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine. The UK has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia and has provided arms to Ukraine, according to REL reports.
Moscow claimed that last week Ukraine attacked Russia for the first time with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine had also used American ATACMS missiles, claiming that these attacks were the reason Moscow launched a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile on Ukraine on November 21.
