Russia has expelled a British diplomat on suspicion of espionage, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The ministry received information linking the diplomat to the British secret service. The UK Foreign Office dismissed the accusations as unfounded.
The Russian ministry summoned British charge d’affaires Danae Dholakia to express a “strong protest” and informed her of the diplomat’s expulsion. As she left the ministry, she faced disapproval from a crowd of Moscow residents unhappy with British policies.
The unnamed diplomat has been stripped of accreditation and given two weeks to leave Russia. The ministry warned against the presence of undeclared British intelligence officers in Russia, stating that Moscow will respond decisively if London escalates the situation.
Both Russia and the UK have expelled each other’s diplomats in recent years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Last year, Russia expelled two British diplomats over alleged espionage activities, which the British embassy in Moscow denied.
Sergey Karaganov, head of Russia’s Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, recently warned that if Russia faced defeat in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin would resort to using nuclear weapons, causing catastrophic consequences for Europe. Karaganov criticized his government for being too lenient with Europe and indicated that severe consequences could follow if support for the war in Ukraine continued.
