Russia expels six British diplomats it accuses of spying and sabotage

‘Baseless’ expulsions come as Putin threatens West over Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles inside Russia

Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow, accusing them of spying and sabotage.

As president Vladimir Putin warned that Nato will be at war with Moscow if Western nations allow Ukraine to use their long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russian territory, Russia’s FSB security service accused British diplomats of working to ensure Moscow’s defeat in the 30-month conflict.

The FSB claimed to have documents showing a British foreign office department in London was coordinating what it called “the escalation of the political and military situation” and was tasked with ensuring Russia’s strategic defeat against Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin has issued a new threat as Keir Starmer travels to Washington to discuss Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles (Sputnik/Alexei Danichev/Kremlin via REUTERS)

“Thus, 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 FSB said.

“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 ... has terminated the accreditation of six members of the political department of the British Embassy.”

The FSB claimed it had found “signs of spying and sabotage” in the actions of the six diplomats, who were named and pictured on Russian state TV.

Speaking to Russian state TV, an FSB employee said: “The English did not take our hints about the need to stop this practice, so we decided to expel these six to begin with.”

Describing the accusations as “completely baseless”, the UK Foreign Office said the diplomats’ accreditation had been revoked last month “following action taken by the UK government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK”.

“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” a spokesperson added.

It is understood that the diplomats left Russia weeks ago and are already being replaced. Such diplomatic tit-for-tats with European embassies have been frequent since Mr Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Sir Keir Starmer and David Lammy are visiting Washington DC to discuss Ukraine (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was cited by the state Tass news agency as claiming the activities of the British embassy in Moscow had gone well beyond diplomatic convention and accusing it of carrying out deliberate activity designed to harm the Russian people.

The spat comes as Sir Keir Starmer travels to Washington for talks with US president Joe Biden, central to which are expected to be Kyiv’s pleas to use Western-provided missiles against targets deep inside Russia.

In a message apparently timed for when Sir Keir and his entourage were crossing the Atlantic, Mr Putin warned that such a move would mean that Russia would be “at war with Nato”.

“So this is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is a question of deciding whether or not Nato countries are directly involved in a military conflict,” te Russian president state TV.

But the prime minister told journalists on the flight: “First, to reiterate, it was Russia who started this in the first place. They caused the conflict, they’re the ones who are acting unlawfully. And Ukraine obviously has the right to self-defence.

“That is why we have been providing training and capability. And, you know, there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability.”

Earlier this week, Britain and the US jointly pledged some £1.1bn in additional aid to Ukraine, as foreign secretary David Lammy and US secretary of state Antony Blinken travelled to Kyiv to meet president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Additional reporting by agencies