A British diplomat and the spouse of another diplomat are being expelled from Russia, the country’s domestic security service has said, in what is being seen as the latest tit-for-tat escalation after the UK expelled a Russian official last month.
The Foreign Office is yet to comment on the allegations that the embassy staff were being thrown out on spying charges.
They have been stripped of their accreditation and ordered to leave Russia within two weeks, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said, adding it had uncovered “signs of intelligence and subversive work” by the two men.
A representative of the British embassy has also been summoned over the case, Russia’s foreign ministry said on Monday.
In the past year alone, there have been seven British diplomats expelled from Russia with Moscow accusing them of espionage – allegations denied by the UK.
Relations between the UK and Russia have deteriorated in the years following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Last month, the UK expelled a Russian diplomat– an action taken in response to Moscow’s expulsion of a British diplomat in November 2024.
The Russian Foreign Ministry had said then that it intended to retaliate to the expulsion.
In Monday’s reported action, Moscow said it was expelling the diplomats on grounds of espionage.
In a statement the FSB said the two had declared “false information about themselves when receiving permission” to enter Russia.
The has approached the UK Foreign Office for comment.
The pair appear to be the first western diplomats to be expelled from Moscow since Russia and the US held talks on restoring diplomatic relations.
Last week, Washington and Moscow held talks in Turkey to restore staff at their respective embassies after years of tit-for-tat expulsions. On Friday – one day after talks were held in Istanbul – Russia confirmed it would send a new ambassador, Alexander Darchiev, to Washington.
Relations between Britain and Russia have been further strained since Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled a series of measures supporting Ukraine, including increasing defence spending, calling on countries to join a “coalition of the willing” to deter Russia from further invading Ukraine in the event of a peace deal, and committing to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to help maintain a peace.
