UK denounces ‘malicious and baseless accusations’ after FSB claims it ‘identified signs of intelligence and subversive work’ carried out by the officials.
Russia has accused two British diplomats of espionage and ordered them to leave the country within two weeks, marking the latest in a series of tit-for-tat expulsions over alleged spying activities.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) stated on Monday that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had revoked the accreditation of the diplomats, accusing them of providing false information when obtaining permission to enter Russia.
The counterintelligence agency further claimed it had “identified signs of intelligence and subversive work” carried out by the two individuals, which it said had harmed Russian security.
The announcement comes as diplomatic relations between Russia and the United Kingdom continue to deteriorate following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On Friday, a jury in London convicted three Bulgarian nationals based in the UK for conducting “industrial-scale” espionage on behalf of Russia.
Last week, a Russian court sentenced a British man to 19 years in prison after he was captured while fighting for Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region.
In early February, the UK announced it would revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat in retaliation for a similar move made by Russia in November last year.
The FSB did not name the two diplomats but identified them as the British embassy’s second secretary and the husband of the first secretary, who entered the country “under the cover of the national embassy.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also summoned a representative from the British embassy in connection with the allegations.
In a statement, a UK Foreign Office spokesperson condemned Russia’s latest expulsion and accusations of espionage.
“This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations against our staff,” the spokesperson said.
Intelligence scandals throughout Russian President Vladimir Putin’s quarter-century in power have strained diplomatic ties between Russia and the UK.
In 2006, the UK accused Moscow of orchestrating the assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a poisoning attack in London.
In 2018, the UK and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officials, alleging they were spies involved in the attempted poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Russia has denied any involvement in these incidents.
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