Russia’s Federal Security Service on Friday charged six British diplomats with espionage and said a decision has been made to withdraw their accreditation.
Russian state TV quoted an official from the security service known as the FSB as saying they will be deported.
The FSB claimed to have received documents indicating they were sent to Russia by a department of the British Foreign Office “whose main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country”, and that they were involved in “intelligence gathering and subversive activities.”
The move comes two days after the United States and Britain pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine, and as Ukrainian officials renewed calls to use Western missiles against targets deeper inside Russia.
The British Embassy in Moscow did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.