Russia expels 6 British diplomats it accuses of spying

MOSCOW

Russia on Sept. 13 accused six British diplomats of spying and said it decided to expel them, an announcement that comes as tensions between Moscow and the West grow during an intensified push by Ukraine to loosen restrictions on using weapons provided by the U.S. and Britain to strike Russia.

Russia’s Federal Security Service said that a decision was made to withdraw their accreditations.

The U.K. said the expulsions took place last month.

The move comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Washington for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden that will include Ukraine’s request to use Western-supplied weapons against targets inside Russia.

The FSB said it received documents indicating that the diplomats were sent to Russia by a division of the U.K. Foreign Office “whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country,” and that they were involved in “intelligence-gathering and subversive activities.”

It warned that if other diplomats are found to be carrying out “similar actions,” the agency “will demand early termination of their missions” to Russia.

Britain called the allegations against the diplomats “completely baseless.” It said the expulsions happened weeks ago, linking them to Britain’s decision in May to revoke the credentials of an attaché at Moscow’s London embassy and to impose a five-year time limit on all Russian diplomats in Britain.

In May the U.K. expelled Russia’s defense attaché in London , alleging he was an undeclared intelligence officer, and closed several Russian diplomatic properties in Britain that it said were being used for spying.

About a week later, Russia reciprocated and expelled Britain’s defense attaché.