Russia expelled several British diplomats last month over allegations that they were “threatening the security” of the Kremlin.
Russia revoked the six diplomats’ accreditation due to what Moscow’s Federal Security Service said were “signs of intelligence and subversive work,” CNN reported Friday.
Their behavior was viewed as “threatening the security of the Russian Federation,” Moscow said — though it did not provide evidence of the alleged spying.
The expulsions took place in August, Britain confirmed.
“The accusations made today by the FSB against our staff are completely baseless,” Britain’s Foreign Office said Friday.
“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” it added.
The expulsions were supposedly made in response to new measures that were announced by the UK’s previous government in the spring, the Foreign Office added.
In May, then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak summoned the Russian ambassador and ousted the Russian defense attaché on the grounds that he was an “undeclared military intelligence officer.”
The British government is currently in the process of replacing the ousted workers, CNN said.
Russia, meanwhile, alleged that the British Foreign Office had transformed since Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 into a body whose “main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country,” the outlet added.
The identities of the six expelled diplomats were published by the Russian state media.
The announcement of the expulsions coincided with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Washington, DC, where he is meeting with President Joe Biden about possibly easing the restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian territory with Western weapons, CNN noted.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv earlier this week.
Zelensky has been pushing both the US and Britain to allow Ukraine to fire long-range Western weapons into Russia following the surprise incursion into the Kursk region.
Vladimir Putin warned NATO alliance leaders on Thursday that easing the restrictions would be viewed as an act of war.
“This will mean that NATO countries — the United States and European countries — are at war with Russia,” he told reporters.
“And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.”
Ahead of Friday’s talks, US officials said they did not expect Biden to immediately allow US-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems to be launched into Russia from the Ukrainian border.
The US could allow Ukraine to do so using similar weapons provided by Britain and France, they explained.
