Russia imposes Soviet-style restrictions on British diplomats in Moscow

Russia on Thursday put Soviet-style restrictions on British diplomats, requiring them to give at least five working days’ notice of any plans to travel outside of a 120 km (75 mph) radius.

The West has given Kyiv military aid worth tens of billions of dollars and levied severe economic penalties since President Vladimir Putin ordered soldiers into Ukraine in February 2022.

One of the most vocal international opponents of what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine is Britain, which is also one of the main Western exporters of arms to Ukraine.

At a meeting at the foreign ministry in Moscow on Thursday, Russia’s chargé d’affaires for Britain was chastised for what it claimed was his support for the “terrorist actions” of Ukraine and for blocking Russian diplomacy in Britain.

“The British side was also informed of the decision to introduce a notification procedure for the movement of employees of British diplomatic missions on the territory of our country as a response to London’s hostile actions,” the ministry said.

The British Foreign Office’s representative stated: “This was a planned meeting, held at our request, as part of standard diplomatic practise.”

Regarding the new laws, the Foreign Office made no comments. Moscow’s British Embassy declined to comment.

The limitations will place British diplomats in Moscow under the strictest controls they have ever known since the Soviet era, when KGB security service tightly controlled and severely restricted international travel.

Russia portrays the United States and Britain as treacherous nations that are aiding Ukraine in an effort to split up Russia and seize its enormous natural riches, claims that both Washington and London refute.

Moscow has claimed that two persons were killed on Monday in a drone strike on the Crimean Bridge that implicated the United States and the United Kingdom. Moscow has also asserted that both nations may have assisted in last September’s explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Germany and Russia.

For any journey beyond a 120-km “free movement zone,” British diplomats will need to notify their superiors in writing at least five working days in advance, with the exception of the ambassador and three other senior diplomats.

“Such a document should contain information about the timing, purpose, type of trip, planned business contacts, accompanying persons, type of transport, places of visit and accommodation, as well as the route of the trip,” the ministry said.

Moscow diplomatic assignments are currently ranked among the most challenging in the world by Western nations. In terms of hardship, the US State Department places Moscow on par with Freetown, Mogadishu, Damascus, and Kabul.

A manual known as “Moscow Rules” that was created by Western spies in the Soviet era to prevent complacency has been modified for modern Russia, according to Western diplomats in Moscow, and they claim that intrusive surveillance and harassment are common.

Russia has long complained that Western capitals often harass its diplomats.

Anatoly Antonov, Russia’s ambassador to the United States, claimed in May that embassy staff had received violent threats and that they were routinely contacted in the neighbourhood by people claiming to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Central Intelligence Agency.

(With agency inputs)