Russia Expels Six British Diplomats Citing Espionage Allegations

On Friday, September 13, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) announced its decision to revoke the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow, claiming their activities allegedly exhibited signs of espionage and subversive conduct.

The FSB stated that it possesses documents suggesting that the British Foreign Office department in London, responsible for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, was tasked with ensuring Russia's strategic defeat in its’ war against Ukraine. The Russian intelligence agency also claimed that the documents purportedly confirm that "London coordinated the escalation of the international military-political situation," according to the Russian news agency Interfax, citing the FSB.

The FSB’s statement suggested that the discovered evidence provides grounds to view the activities of the British diplomats in Moscow as "posing a threat to the security of the Russian Federation."

"Based on the documents provided by the FSB and in response to numerous unfriendly actions by London, the Russian Foreign Ministry, in cooperation with relevant agencies, has revoked the accreditation of six employees from the British Embassy's political department in Moscow. Their actions were found to show signs of espionage and subversive activities," the statement read.

Later, the Russian state television channel Rossiya-24 named the six British diplomats being expelled from Moscow and displayed their photos. According to the channel, they are Jessica Davenport, Grace Elvin, Andrew Daft Callum, Catherine Macdonald, Thomas John Hickson, and Blake Patell.

"A hint to stop this practice has not been taken seriously by the British, so we decided to start by expelling these six," an FSB official said on the channel.

Additionally, the FSB stated that Russia would require other British diplomats to leave the country early if similar activities are discovered.

Meanwhile, the Russian state news agency TASS quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who stated that the activities of the British Embassy in Moscow had "far exceeded" diplomatic norms and accused it of deliberate actions aimed at harming the Russian people.

Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, European nations expelled around 600 Russian diplomats, with about 400 suspected of being intelligence officers.