MOSCOW (AP) — Russian authorities on Tuesday ordered a British diplomat to leave the country on espionage charges as tensions rise over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, the country’s top domestic security and counterintelligence agency, said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that the diplomat, identified as Edward Pryor Wilkes, provided false personal information when he applied for permission to enter the country.
The agency, known by its Russian acronym FSB, claimed he had been working for British intelligence under diplomatic cover, replacing one of six British diplomats expelled from Russia in August. The FSB alleged that Wilkes was involved in “intelligence and subversive activities that threatened the security of the Russian Federation.”
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Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said a decision had been made to revoke Wilkes’ accreditation and he had been ordered to leave the country within two weeks. She said the ministry has summoned the British ambassador to hand over the notice.
Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office had no immediate comment.
Russia announced the expulsion of six British diplomats in September, weeks after this took place. Moscow accused them of espionage, accusations rejected by Britain as “completely unfounded.”
Russia and NATO allies have carried out multiple rounds of mutual expulsions of diplomats as relations sank to their lowest level since the Cold War after the Kremlin sent troops to Ukraine in February 2022.
