Britain’s diplomatic row with Russia intensified on Wednesday after the British government announced it would expel a senior Russian diplomat who officials say is an “undeclared” military intelligence officer, and also close several Russian diplomatic facilities. in the country.
The government accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the Federal Security Service (FSB), of a pattern of “malign activity” in Britain and Europe, including hacking and leaking trade documents related to United States and attacks on British legislators through malicious email campaigns. .
James Cleverly, the British home secretary, told Parliament that the government was announcing the retaliatory measures “to make it clear to Russia that we will not tolerate such apparent escalations.”
Britain’s action came two days after Russia’s Foreign Office said it had summoned the British ambassador in Moscow to lodge a “strong protest” over comments British Foreign Secretary David Cameron had made. fact about Ukraine’s use of British-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory.
The British Foreign Office questioned whether the envoy, Nigel Casey, had been summoned, characterizing it rather as a “diplomatic meeting” in which, it said, he had “reiterated the UK’s support for Ukraine in the face of unprovoked Russian aggression.” ”.
Whatever the diplomatic nuances, it is clear that Britain’s relations with Russia – already among the most fragile between Moscow and a NATO member – are falling into an even deeper freeze. The Russian Foreign Ministry promised a “tough and measured” response, according to a statement.
“We consider the British claims about our country’s alleged involvement in certain malicious actions to be extremely irresponsible and categorically unacceptable,” said Maria V. Zakharova, a ministry spokesperson.
Cleverly said Britain would expel the diplomat, a defense attaché whom he did not identify, and put new restrictions on visas for Russian diplomats, limiting the amount of time they can spend in Britain. He said Russia had tried to destabilize a British research group focused on combating disinformation.
Britain will also strip Russian-owned properties of diplomatic status, including Seacox Heath, a house in East Sussex that the Russian embassy has used as a weekend retreat for its staff, and a trade and defense office in Highgate, in London. Cleverly said these facilities “have been used for intelligence purposes.”
In addition to its operations in Britain, Cleverly accused Russia of conspiring to sabotage German military aid to Ukraine and of carrying out espionage in Italy and Bulgaria. Among his activities, he said, are cyber and disinformation campaigns and signal jamming to disrupt civil aviation.
In a statement, Cameron, the foreign secretary, said: “Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s attempts to undermine the security of the UK and Europe have become increasingly brazen.”
“These measures are an unequivocal message to the Russian state: its actions will not go unanswered,” he said.
It was the second time this week that Britain accused a hostile foreign actor of cyber attacks. In Tuesday’s first announcement, involving a large-scale breach of British military personnel payroll data, it did not name the country behind the attack. Lawmakers pointed the finger at China.
Asked if Chinese hackers were responsible, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said China was “acting in a more authoritarian way at home and assertive abroad.” Britain, he added, faced “an axis of authoritarian states, including Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.”
Britain’s tensions with Russia go back decades. But they deepened in 2018, after a former Russian intelligence agent and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, England. Britain blamed Russian military intelligence and expelled 23 diplomats whom it called undeclared intelligence officers.
In 2020, a British parliamentary committee concluded that Russia had mounted a prolonged campaign to undermine British democracy: using disinformation tactics, meddling in elections, funneling dirty money and employing members of the House of Lords. Russia dismissed the findings as “Russophobia.”
Britain was one of the first NATO countries to supply arms to Ukraine as it faced a threat from Russian troops in early 2022. A succession of British leaders, including Sunak and one of his predecessors, Boris Johnson, have defined positions as unconditional defenders of Ukraine against Russia.
Cameron, who also served as prime minister, lobbied Republicans in Washington to extend U.S. military aid to Ukraine, and even visited former President Donald J. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Cameron provoked a furious reaction in Moscow when he suggested during a recent visit to kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, that Ukraine “absolutely has the right to counterattack Russia,” even with British weapons. The United States and other arms suppliers have generally discouraged attacks on Russian territory for fear it could drag the West into war.
In its statement after calling the British ambassador, the Russian Foreign Office said Cameron was “de facto recognizing his country as a party to the conflict.”
“The ambassador was called to think about the inevitable catastrophic consequences of such hostile measures by London,” the ministry said.
Britain’s suspicion of Russia extends even to the British royal family. Researchers in Britain reported that a Kremlin-linked disinformation network had spread false reports on social media about the health problems of Catherine, Princess of Wales, aiming to exacerbate divisions and erode trust in institutions.
Catherine revealed in March that she had been diagnosed with cancer, putting those rumors to rest. But with Britain’s planned general election just months away, researchers and government officials are watching for evidence of new Russian efforts to destabilize the country.
Anton Troianovski contributed with reports.