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Russia restricts movements of British diplomats in response to 'hostile actions'

Thursday, 20 July 2023 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 20 July 2023 9:53 PM ]

The British flag flies on the embassy building, with the Radisson Royal Hotel, seen in the background, in Moscow, Russia, on March 23, 2018. (Photo by Reuters)

Moscow has announced that British diplomats working in Russia will need to notify authorities in advance about their movements around the country.

In a statement released on Thursday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said the measures were in response to the "hostile actions" of London, a key ally of Ukraine, and British measures "hindering the normal operation of Russian foreign mission in the UK."

The diplomats will need to give authorities notice of at least five working days of travel outside the "120-kilometer (75-mile) free movement zone," the ministry said.

This should include "information about the timings, purpose, type of trip, planned business contacts, accompanying persons, mode of transport, places of visit and accommodation as well as the route of the trip."

The procedure will be required for "accredited personnel" of the British embassy in Moscow and the consulate general in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals.

It will not apply to the British ambassador and a few other senior diplomats.

The ministry also summoned Britain's charge d'affaires Tom Dodd to inform him of a "notification procedure for the movement of employees of British diplomatic missions on the territory of our country".

Russia casts Britain and the United States as perfidious countries which are supporting Ukraine in an attempt to cleave Russia apart and grab its vast natural resources.

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Moscow has also suggested that Britain and the United States were involved in a drone attack on the Crimean Bridge which killed two people on Monday. The bridge connects the southern Russian region of Krasnodar to the peninsula's port of Kerch.

Moscow has also suggested both states may have helped blow up the Nord Stream gas pipelines connecting Russia and Germany.

Western nations have ousted hundreds of Russians since Moscow launched the military operation in February 2022.

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Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine in late February last year, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements and Moscow’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

At the time, Russian President Vladimir Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

Western countries have also imposed a slew of economic sanctions against Moscow. The Kremlin has said that the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

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