Russia on Friday said six British diplomats were spying and decided to make them leave. The U.K. said the "totally untrue" move happened weeks ago and was connected to its action in May to take away the papers of an attaché at the Russian Embassy and limit Moscow's diplomatic work in London,
The latest East-West tensions came up as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits Washington for talks that will include Ukraine's request to use Western-given weapons to hit targets inside Russia. President Vladimir Putin has warned that Kyiv's use of long-range weapons would put NATO in a war with Moscow.
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Russia's Federal Security Service said in an online statement that the Foreign Ministry took away the British envoys' papers, and Russian TV quoted an FSB official as saying it was decided to make them leave.
The FSB said it got documents showing the diplomats were sent to Russia by a part of the U.K.'s Foreign Office "whose main job is to cause a big defeat for our country," and that they were doing "intelligence-gathering and undermining activities." It didn't name the six diplomats.
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The FSB warned that if other diplomats are found to be doing "similar things," it "will demand they end their missions" to Russia early.
Russian TV said the six diplomats had met with independent media and rights groups that have been called "foreign agents" — a label Russian authorities have often used against groups and people who criticize the Kremlin.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the diplomats were doing "undermining actions aimed at hurting our people."
"We totally agree with what the Russian FSB said about the activities of the British so-called diplomats," she added in an online statement. "The British Embassy has gone way beyond the limits set by the Vienna Conventions."
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said ending diplomatic relations with the U.K. was not being considered right now.
In calling the Russian claims "totally untrue," the U.K. Foreign Office said the expulsions happened weeks ago, connecting them to Britain's decision in May to take away the papers of an attaché at Moscow's London embassy and to put a five-year time limit on all Russian diplomats in Britain.
"The Russian authorities took away the diplomatic papers of six U.K. diplomats in Russia last month, after action taken by the U.K. government in response to Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the U.K.," the Foreign Office said in a statement. "We don't apologize for protecting our national interests."
In May, the U.K. made Russia's defense attaché in London leave, saying he was an undeclared intelligence officer, and it closed several Russian diplomatic properties in Britain that it said were being used for spying. About a week later, Russia did the same and made Britain's defense attaché leave.
Making diplomats leave — both Western envoys working in Russia and Russians in the West — has become more common since Moscow started its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Last year, the Russian news outlet RBC counted that Western countries and Japan made a total 670 Russian diplomats leave between the start of 2022 and October 2023, while Moscow responded by making 346 diplomats leave. According to RBC, that was more than in the previous 20 years combined.
On his way to visit the U.S., Starmer said Britain doesn't "want any conflict with Russia."
"Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia could end this conflict right away," he told reporters.
"Ukraine has the right to defend itself and we've obviously been totally supportive of Ukraine's right to self-defense — we're providing training ability, as you know. But we don't want any conflict with Russia — that's not our intention at all," he said.
Ukraine wants approval to use some weapons to hit deeper into Russia and there are signs that President Joe Biden might change U.S. policy in response.
While the issue is expected to be at the top of the list for their meeting, it seemed unlikely that Biden and Starmer would announce any policy changes at this time, according to two U.S. officials familiar with planning for the talks. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't allowed to discuss the private talks.
Ukrainian officials again asked to use Western-provided long-range missiles against targets deeper inside Russia during this week's visit to Kyiv by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Blinken said he had "no doubt" that Biden and Starmer would discuss the matter during their visit, noting the U.S. has adapted and "will adjust as needed" as Russia's battlefield strategy has changed.