In a move that has escalated tensions between Russia and the United Kingdom, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Friday that it has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats in Moscow, accusing them of engaging in “subversive activities and intelligence” gathering.

The FSB claimed to have “documentary” proof confirming the United Kingdom’s “coordination of an escalation in the international political and military situation” in Ukraine.

The Russian intelligence agency alleged that the diplomats were working to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia, and that their actions were part of a broader Western effort to undermine Russian interests.

The British government swiftly rejected the accusations, calling them “completely baseless.”

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A statement from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office emphasized that the move was a tit-for-tat response to Western measures aimed at countering “Russian state-directed activity across Europe and in the UK.”

“We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests,” the statement read.

The six diplomats in question have already left Russia and been replaced, according to reports. The timing of the announcement is significant, coming just hours before a planned meeting between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden in Washington, DC, where the Ukraine war is expected to be a key topic of discussion.

The FSB, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, alleged that the British foreign ministry’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia department was coordinating moves aimed at undermining Russian interests.

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