Moscow has revoked the accreditation of a British diplomat at the U.K. Embassy and ordered the individual to leave the Russian Federation within 14 days, announcing that a counterintelligence operation by the Federal Security Service (FSB) found him to be an undeclared officer of British intelligence. The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the United Kingdom’s senior on‑site diplomat in Moscow to lodge a formal protest and warned that further escalation by London could draw a reciprocal response. The British Foreign Office dismissed the espionage allegation as malicious and baseless and said it was carefully considering how to respond. The FSB announcement and Foreign Ministry statements provided the identification and accusation but did not publish supporting evidence, and no independent public documentation has been released to substantiate the espionage claim. Reporting also varied on precise name spelling and the exact diplomatic title of the U.K. official summoned.

Source: ABC News January 15, 2026 14:02 UTC