Moscow names expelled British diplomats

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Six people, mostly in mid-level positions, showed “signs of intelligence and subversive work” according to the Russian FSB

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has released photos of six British diplomats whom Moscow has declared persona non grata over what it claims are the United Kingdom’s “subversive activities” and espionage.

On Friday, the FSB claimed to have obtained proof of the UK’s attempts to stoke global tensions and undermine Russia’s stability, alleging that it was engaged in “subversive policies” in the country to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Moscow.

In light of this, Russia terminated the accreditation of six employees of the political department of the British Embassy in Moscow, arguing that their actions “showed signs of intelligence and subversive work.”

Hours later, the FSB shared pictures of the diplomats. They were identified as Jessica Davenport, Grace Elvin, Andrew Duff, Katharine McDonnell, Thomas John Hickson Stevenette, and Blake Patel. Most of the diplomats hold mid-level positions in the embassy, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry’s list.

In a comment to Russian media, an unnamed FSB agent said that the UK embarked on its disruptive activities back in 2014 after the start of the Ukraine crisis. After the start of Russia’s military operation in February 2022, London became “so insolent” that it completely overhauled the Foreign Office’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Directorate (EECAD) to ensure that the crisis continued to fester, he added.

London sends married couples as spies to Russia and uses minors as cover for its intelligence operations, the agent claimed, adding that “any diplomatic etiquette is out of the question.”  

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“It is funny to behold this classic British espionage, but it should be stopped. The British are not heeding the warnings about the need to stop this practice, so we have decided to expel these six people first,” he said, vowing further action if the UK does not alter course.

The UK Foreign Office has pushed back on the allegations, calling them “completely baseless.” It also suggested that Moscow’s latest move was a tit-for-tat response to Britain’s decision to revoke the credentials of an attache at Moscow’s embassy in London. 

Relations between Russia and Britain have sunk to unprecedented lows amid the Ukraine conflict, with Moscow slamming the UK and other Western countries over arms deliveries to Kiev. At the same time, despite the latest controversy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov signaled that Moscow and London were not on the verge of a complete break in diplomatic relations in the foreseeable future.