The UK government said Wednesday it had expelled a Russian diplomat and a diplomatic spouse, after summoning the Russian ambassador in protest over a “campaign of harassment against British diplomats”.

“Summoning the Russian Ambassador today, a senior Foreign Office official made clear that the UK will not stand for intimidation of British embassy staff and their families. Consequently, we are taking immediate reciprocal action, revoking accreditation for a Russian diplomat and a diplomatic spouse,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Russia on Monday accused two British diplomats of spying and gave them two weeks to leave the country.

The UK on Wednesday accused Moscow of pursuing “an increasingly aggressive and coordinated campaign of harassment against British diplomats, pumping out malicious and completely baseless accusations about their work.

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via videoconference, at the Constantine Palace in Strelna, St. Petersburg, on February 18, 2025. (Photo by Mikhail Metzel / POOL / AFP

“Russia’s expulsion this week of a British diplomat and diplomatic spouse is yet another escalation,” added the Foreign Office, calling the accusations “entirely false” and “fabricated in order to justify their increasing harassment of UK diplomats”.

“The depths to which Russia sinks can only be met through strength,” it said.

Any further action “will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly,” warned the UK government, accusing Russia of “actively seeking to drive the British Embassy in Moscow towards closure”.

AFP