Russia expels UK diplomat for spying as tensions build with Britain

Russia has expelled a UK diplomat, accusing him of espionage as tensions spiral between the two countries.

The move comes after the UK sent long-range Storm Shadow missiles for Ukraine to use on targets inside Russia in response to thousands of North Korean troops joining Russia’s forces.

The Russian FSB intelligence agency claimed that the British diplomat had engaged in “reconnaissance and subversive activities that threaten the country’s security,” The Guardian reports.

Photo: screenshot from BBC video

The FSB added that the diplomat had “intentionally provided false information when applying for entry into Russia, thereby violating Russian law.”

President Vladimir Putin has viewed the UK’s U-turn on the use of long-range missiles on Russian targets as escalating hostilities and has responded by launching an experimental ballistic missile at a military target in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

Putin has also said Russia had “the right to strike” any western country sending weapons to Ukraine to use against Russia.

Referring to the expulsion of the UK diplomat, A British Foreign Office spokesperson said, “This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff. We will respond in due course,” CNN reports.

Russia claims the UK diplomat was sent to Russia to replace the six expelled over the summer, also for alleged espionage.

Shortly after the diplomat’s expulsion, Russia’s foreign office issued a “stop list” banning 30 British politicians and officials from entering the country on account of “hostile actions,” the BBC reports.

The names included Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, as well as reporters from newspapers, including The Times and The Daily Mail.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy were banned back in 2022 before taking office. The new Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was also banned that year.

In response to these bans, a spokesman from the Foreign Office hit back with, “While we do not comment on Russian designations, we can’t see any member of this government traveling to Russia anytime until Putin rolls back his tanks and ends his illegal invasion of Ukraine," CNN reports.

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