Moscow on Monday ordered two British diplomats to leave Russia within two weeks, accusing them of espionage. This has further deteriorated Russia’s deteriorating relations with Europe. Russia announces expulsion However, since President Donald Trump came to power, Washington and Moscow have taken steps to normalize relations.
The UK Foreign Office has rejected Russia’s accusations against its diplomats as “baseless”.
The UK has continued to provide military aid to Ukraine despite the US withdrawal. The country’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently said that they plan to send troops and aircraft to maintain peace in Ukraine. These steps and announcements by the UK have angered Russia. Russia is going to expel the UK diplomats at a time when only a few days ago a London court convicted three Bulgarians of spying for Russia. The three Bulgarians worked for a Russian intelligence unit supported by Wirecard, a financial institution run by Jan Marsalek. They were monitoring a US military base and some individuals targeted by Moscow. Incidentally, Wirecard is currently a bankrupt company. And Austrian citizen Jan Marsalek is a fugitive. This is the first time since Washington-Moscow relations began to turn around, Russia announced the expulsion of two Russia announces expulsion Western diplomats. However, after sending thousands of troops to Ukraine in 2022, Russia and Western countries have expelled diplomats in turn.
Russia’s Central Security Service said, ‘These two British diplomats provided false information after being allowed to enter our country. We have evidence of their “espionage and subversive activities”, which undermined Russia’s security. Russian intelligence services are doing everything necessary to ensure national security.’
In response to Moscow’s decision, the UK Foreign Office said in a statement, ‘This is not the first time that Russia has made malicious and unfounded accusations against our officials.’
