UK denounces ‘malicious and baseless accusations’ after FSB says it ‘recognized indicators of intelligence and subversive work’ carried out by the officers.
Russia has accused two British diplomats of spying and ordered them to go away the nation inside two weeks, the newest in a collection of tit-for-tat expulsions over alleged espionage.
The Russian Federal Safety Service (FSB) mentioned on Monday the Ministry of International Affairs had revoked the accreditation of the diplomats, accusing them of offering false info when acquiring permission to enter Russia.
The counterintelligence company additional mentioned it had “recognized indicators of intelligence and subversive work” that the 2 personnel had carried out, harming Russian safety.
The announcement got here as diplomatic relations between Russia and the UK proceed to deteriorate within the wake of the previous’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
On Friday, a jury in London convicted three Bulgarian nationals based mostly within the UK for finishing up “industrial-scale” spying for Russia.
Final week, a Russian courtroom additionally sentenced to 19 years in jail a British man captured whereas preventing for Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk area.
And in early February, the UK mentioned it could revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, in retaliation to an analogous transfer made by Russia in November final yr.
The FSB didn’t determine the 2 diplomats by identify, however mentioned they had been the British embassy’s second secretary and the husband of the primary secretary, who got here to the nation “beneath the duvet of the nationwide embassy”.
The Russian International Ministry additionally summoned a British embassy consultant in reference to the allegations.
In an announcement, a UK International Workplace spokesperson denounced Russia’s newest expulsion and accusations of spying.
“This isn’t the primary time that Russia has made malicious and baseless accusations towards our employees,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Intelligence scandals all through Russian President Vladimir Putin’s quarter-century in energy have strained diplomatic ties between Russia and the UK.
In 2006, the UK had accused Moscow of being behind the assassination of former Russian agent and Kremlin critic Alexander Litvinenko in a London poisoning assault.
And in 2018, the UK and its allies expelled dozens of Russian embassy officers they mentioned had been spies over the tried poisoning of former double agent, Sergei Skripal, with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.
Russia has denied any involvement.
