Six British diplomats are expelled by Russia in a dispute over long-range weapons

 As London and the US consider allowing Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia, Russia has revoked the accreditation of six British diplomats and accused them of spying on Moscow, it emerged on Friday. This represents a new geopolitical escalation that was reported in Russian state media.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow asserted, without offering any supporting documentation, that it had seen "signs of intelligence and subversive work" by the diplomats and that their activities "threaten the security of the Russian Federation."

Later, Britain claimed that the expulsion had taken place last month and called the charges "completely baseless." The British government is currently in the process of replacing the diplomats who departed Russia several weeks ago.

The action was made public a few hours after US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in Washington, DC, to discuss loosening sanctions on Ukraine's capacity to use Western weapons to attack Russian territory.

Since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia claimed, the Foreign Office of Britain has changed into an organization whose "main task is to inflict a strategic defeat on our country."

The identities of the six diplomats that the nation had expelled were later revealed by Russian state media.

In a statement released on Friday, the Foreign Office stated that the expulsions were carried out in reaction to fresh directives that the previous British government had announced in May. The Russian defense attaché was sent out by Rishi Sunak's administration that same month, who called him "an undeclared military intelligence officer."

The British Foreign Office declared on Friday that "the accusations made today by the FSB against our staff are completely baseless."

It went on, "We have no qualms about defending our national interests."

The move's delayed announcement in Russia seemed to have been planned to align with Starmer's meeting with Biden. This meeting came after British Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Following Kyiv's unexpected incursion into the Russian border region of Kursk, Zelensky's administration has been pressuring both nations to permit the Ukrainian military to fire long-range Western weapons deep into Russian territory.

Biden has hinted at a new level of willingness to let Ukraine launch missiles supplied by the West at targets located far inside Russia.

Prior to Starmer and Biden's meeting, US officials stated they did not anticipate Biden would quickly approve the use of US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, against targets inside Russia that are far from the Ukrainian border. The question of whether the US could approve Ukraine's use of comparable systems offered by Britain and France is being debated.

On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin forewarned NATO leaders that any attempt to remove the restrictions would be viewed as an act of war.

This will imply that NATO members, which include the US and several European nations, are at war with Russia. And if that's the case, we will respond appropriately to any threats that are posed to us, taking into account the shift in the conflict's fundamental nature, Putin informed reporters.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Britain and Moscow have reciprocated diplomatic restrictions and sanctions, with Moscow regularly matching each other's actions at pivotal points in its conflict with Ukraine. In the last two years, Russia has prohibited a number of British lawmakers, officials, and journalists from entering its borders.