Danae Dholakia, the United Kingdom’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, reportedly in connection with London’s statements that it plans to detain Russian commercial vessels in its territorial waters, according to Russian media.
Additionally, Russia’s FSB reported that the Second Secretary of the UK diplomatic mission, Janse Gerardus, was engaged in intelligence and sabotage activities in the country. The diplomat has been stripped of accreditation and must leave Russia within two weeks.
In mid-March, Russia’s Foreign Ministry protested to UK Ambassador Nigel Casey over a Ukrainian strike on Bryansk using Storm Shadow missiles produced by the Franco-British MBDA consortium. The attack occurred on March 10.
Earlier, ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova warned that the deployment of British troops to Ukraine would not end the conflict but prolong it and increase the risk of a large-scale military confrontation involving more countries. She added that, in the event of a foreign military intervention in Ukraine, foreign troop contingents would become legitimate military targets for Russia.
By Jeyhun Aghazada
