Russia has revoked diplomatic accreditation for six British diplomats over allegations of spying. According to a statement from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), evidence had been received of the UK’s involvement in inflicting “a strategic defeat” on Russia. The diplomats have been named and pictured on Russian state TV, though the UK Foreign Office declined to comment.
President Vladimir Putin has suggested that this withdrawal of accreditation would constitute a serious escalation of the war, which he describes as “direct participation” by NATO countries. “If that is the case, we will take corresponding decisions”, he warned. Lord Peter Ricketts, former national security advisor, described the timing as “too coincidental”, suggesting that the accusations were “trumped up” and indicating that the move was a retaliatory punishment for upcoming meetings in Washington regarding the UK’s continued military support of Ukraine.
Diplomatic accreditation is given by a host nation to recognise a person’s diplomatic status. In the absence of accreditation, a person does not have official diplomatic status. The FSB said that the six diplomats had shown signs of conducting intelligence and were tasked with inflicting a “strategic defeat on our country”. Meanwhile, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that Moscow “fully shared the assessments” made by the FSB on the activities of the diplomats.
The UK has increased its aid commitments to Ukraine, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy announcing that it would provide £600m ($780m) in order to support the country’s “humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs”. Last week’s summit in Germany saw the UK commit to sending hundreds more short-range missiles to Ukraine, while the US pledged a further $250m (£189.9m) in military aid. Expulsions of diplomats have become more frequent since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
