Russia has expelled a British diplomat it accuses of working undercover for the United Kingdom’s intelligence services, sharply escalating tensions between Moscow and London at a time of
already fraught relations over the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that the diplomat, a second secretary at the British embassy in Moscow, was an undeclared intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover. According to the agency, the individual has been given two weeks to leave the country. Russian state media published photographs of the diplomat following the announcement.
Russia’s foreign ministry summoned Britain’s charge d’affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, to formally protest what it described as espionage activity on Russian territory. In a statement, the ministry said Moscow would not tolerate the presence of undeclared British intelligence officers and warned of retaliation if the situation escalates.
“If London takes steps to worsen the confrontation, the Russian side will deliver a decisive ‘mirror’ response,” the ministry said, signaling that further expulsions or diplomatic measures could follow.
The incident sparked a small protest outside the foreign ministry, where demonstrators chanted anti-British slogans as the British diplomatic vehicle arrived for the meeting.
The expulsion comes amid a wider surge in espionage accusations between Russia and Western countries, which officials on both sides say has reached levels not seen since the Cold War. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Moscow has repeatedly accused Western intelligence agencies of intensifying efforts to gather secrets, recruit Russian citizens, and destabilize the country from within.
Russian officials have specifically pointed to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and France’s DGSE as being behind what they claim is an expanded intelligence campaign. Western governments strongly reject those accusations.
At the same time, European and U.S. intelligence officials have accused Russian agencies — including the FSB, the SVR foreign intelligence service, and the GRU military intelligence agency — of orchestrating cyberattacks, sabotage operations, and influence campaigns across Europe and North America. Moscow has denied those claims.
Diplomatic expulsions have become a familiar feature of the standoff between Russia and the West, with embassies on both sides shrinking significantly over the past two years as relations continue to deteriorate. Photo by NVO, Wikimedia commons.