LONDON — Britain removed a Russian diplomat from the country Wednesday, striking back after Moscow kicked out a British official and launched what officials called a smear campaign against the UK.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced it called in Russia’s ambassador to London to notify him of the “reciprocal action.” These back-and-forth diplomatic moves highlight the worsening relationship between Russia and Western nations.
“This behavior is wholly unacceptable, and we will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of our diplomatic staff,” the Foreign Office declared in its statement.
The British response follows Russia’s decision last month to remove a UK diplomat based on espionage accusations that Britain dismissed as “complete nonsense.”
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB, which handles domestic security and counterintelligence operations, claimed the British official attempted to collect “sensitive information” about Russia’s economy through “unofficial meetings” with Russian specialists. Moscow gave the diplomat two weeks to depart the country.
Since Russia began its comprehensive military assault on Ukraine in 2022, Russia and countries belonging to NATO have engaged in several cycles of removing each other’s diplomatic personnel, pushing diplomatic ties to their worst state since the Cold War era.
