At the same time that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, is arriving in Washington to explore the possibility of allowing Ukraine to utilise long-range missiles deep within Russian territory, Russia has stated that it has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats stationed in Moscow on the grounds that they are suspected of engaging in espionage.
Following the discovery of papers indicating that a portion of the Foreign Office was assisting in the coordination of what it referred to as “the escalation of the political and military situation” in Ukraine, the FSB security agency announced on Friday that it had taken the step.
The decision was reportedly taken some months ago, after the Metropolitan Police accused a gang of British males of organising an arson attack against Ukrainian-linked enterprises on behalf of the Russian state. The Guardian has been informed that this action was taken.
However, it was announced in a statement on Friday morning, simultaneously with Starmer’s preparations for crucial discussions with Joe Biden, the Vice President of the United States, over the possibility of permitting Ukraine to utilise long-range Storm Shadow missiles within Russia.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has been advocating for authorisation to fire the missiles for a number of months, including during discussions that took place this week with the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony Blinken, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy.Sources claim that the United Kingdom and the United States have reached a consensus to permit Ukraine to make use of long-range missiles; however, they have not yet made the decision public and are not likely to do so during Starmer’s trip.
On Thursday evening, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, issued a warning that a move of this nature would place the nations that are members of NATO “at war with Russia.” On the other hand, Starmer stated to the press that he was travelling to Washington because “Russia started this conflict.” The invasion of Ukraine by Russia was illegal. There is no time for Russia to put a stop to this conflict. The Ukraine is entitled to the right to defend itself.
“The facts revealed give grounds to consider the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow by the directorate as threatening the security of the Russian Federation,” the Federal Security Service (FSB) stated in a statement.
It added: “In this connection, on the basis of documents provided by the Federal Security Service of Russia and as a response to the numerous unfriendly steps taken by London, the ministry of foreign affairs of Russia, in cooperation with the agencies concerned, has terminated the accreditation of six members of the political department of the British embassy in Moscow in whose actions signs of spying and sabotage were found.”
On Russian official television, the names of the six diplomats were announced, and images of them were also displayed.
An employee of the Federal Security Service (FSB) told Rossiya-24 the following: “The English did not take our hints about the need to stop this practice [of carrying out intelligence activities inside Russia], so we decided to expel these six initial individuals.”
The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that Russia would request that other British ambassadors return home if it was discovered that they were involved in activities that were comparable to those that were being investigated.
According to Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the British Embassy’s operations in Moscow went beyond the bounds of diplomatic protocol, according to the state-run TASS news agency. She also accused the British Embassy of carrying out activities that were intentionally aimed to do harm to the Russian people.