Russia Expelled 6 British Diplomats On Espionage Charges

UNSPLASH/Tommy ILLUSTRATION Van Kessel

JAKARTA - Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow on espionage charges.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it obtained documents confirming that the East and Central Asian European Directorates of Britain's foreign ministries made it its main task to "correspond to strategic defeats" to Russia.

The FSB said that after Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine in 2022, the directorate was turned into a "special service" that was moving to harm Russia.

"The revealed facts provide a basis for considering the activities of British diplomats sent to Moscow through the directorate as a threat to the security of the Russian Federation," the FSB said.

"In response to the unfriendly move by London, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs... revoked the accreditation of six employees of the British Embassy's political department in Moscow, who were found to be carrying out intelligence and subversive activities," the statement read.

The FSB warned of further action if similar activities from British diplomatic mission employees were revealed.

The revocation of accreditation means the diplomats no longer have an official basis to remain in Russia. and they must leave the country.