UK expels Russian diplomat in tit-for-tat move

The United Kingdom has expelled a Russian diplomat in response to Moscow’s expulsion of a British embassy employee last month after he was accused of spying.

The UK government informed Russia’s ambassador on Wednesday that it was revoking the accreditation of an unnamed Russian diplomat after the “unjustified” decision to expel the British official and “the malicious public smear campaign that followed”.

“This behaviour is wholly unacceptable, and we will not tolerate harassment or intimidation of our diplomatic staff,” a government spokesperson said in a statement.

There was no immediate reaction by Russia.

Diplomatic relations between the UK and Russia nosedived four years ago when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since then, both countries have expelled several of each other’s diplomats.

In March, Russia ordered a British embassy official to leave, accusing him of spying and intentionally providing false information to enter the country.

Russia’s Federal Security Service accused the man of trying to collect information about Russia’s economy, which the UK government has vehemently denied.

Earlier this month, UK Defence Secretary John Healey said Britain had intercepted a Russian mission to monitor vital undersea infrastructure in the North Atlantic.

Healey said there was no evidence UK infrastructure had been damaged.

As an island nation, the UK relies heavily on undersea cables to connect to the outside world, including the internet. An estimated 60 cables carry almost all of the country’s internet traffic.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting undersea cables.