Russia on Thursday expelled a British diplomat, accusing him of being an “undeclared officer of the United Kingdom’s intelligence services”, and warned London that it would not tolerate espionage activities on Russian territory.
The Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, identified the diplomat as a second secretary at the British embassy in Moscow and alleged that he had been working undercover for Britain’s intelligence service. Russia has reportedly given him two weeks to leave the country.
The UK Foreign Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, as per the reports.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the British chargé d’affaires in Moscow, Danae Dholakia, to lodge a formal protest.
In a statement, the ministry reportedly stated that it had “again stressed that Moscow would not tolerate the activities of undeclared British intelligence officers in Russia”.
The ministry also warned that if London were to escalate the situation, Russia would issue a “decisive mirror response”, signalling the possibility of reciprocal action.
In March 2025, Russia expelled two British officials over accusations of spying, with the UK Foreign Office accusing Moscow of “malicious and baseless accusations” against its staff.
Diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia have deteriorated in recent years, with both countries expelling several of each other’s diplomats since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
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