British Interior Minister James Cleverly told Parliament that the United Kingdom is preparing to expel a prominent Russian diplomat as part of its campaign against Moscow’s attempts to gather intelligence information in Britain.
According to Bloomberg News, these actions include the deportation of the Russian military attaché, who Cleverly described as an undeclared intelligence agent, as well as stripping properties owned by Russia of their diplomatic status. Cleverly informed MPs today, Wednesday, that these measures are in response to a suspected deliberate fire in London targeting Ukrainian properties and other espionage activities in the United Kingdom and Europe.”
Relations between Russia and the UK have been quite strained, especially since the events surrounding Ukraine. The UK views Russia as a significant national security threat, particularly in light of Russia’s actions such as the annexation of Crimea and the support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. These actions have led the UK to implement numerous sanctions against Russia, aiming to deter further aggressive moves and to punish it for breaches of international law
UK policy toward Russia has emphasized protecting national security and democratic institutions from Russian espionage, cyber-attacks, and disinformation campaigns. The UK government’s stance has hardened following incidents like the poisoning of Sergei Skripal on UK soil, which it attributes to the Russian state. This event, among others, has led to a further cooling of diplomatic relations, with the UK coordinating international responses such as the expulsion of Russian diplomats and increasing sanctions
Despite these tensions, both nations are permanent members of the UN Security Council, where they sometimes have to collaborate on global security issues. However, this diplomatic interaction is often overshadowed by their profound disagreements over European security and international norms, as Russia’s policies increasingly diverge from Western values and interests.
