UK expels Russian diplomat it says is a spy

The move to kick out the defence attache is the latest spat in a broader spying cold war that pits Europe against Russia.

Colonel Maxim Elovik, the Russian Defence Attaché who is being expelled from the UK because the government believes him to be a GRU operative.

Britain on Wednesday launched its latest salvo against Russia’s intelligence service, expelling Moscow’s defence attache on ­allegations of spying and removing diplomatic protection from several Kremlin-owned properties that it said were being used for intelligence gathering.

The move is a retaliation against what the British government called a “pattern of malign activity” by Russia in the past year, including allegedly orchestrating an arson attack on a Ukrainian-linked business in east London and hiring six ­Britain-based Bulgarians as part of an alleged Kremlin plot to ­abduct individuals.

“Since the illegal invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s attempts to undermine UK and European security have become increasingly brazen,” said Foreign Secretary David Cameron.

The expelled attache is understood to be Colonel Maxim Elovik, who has been serving at the Russian embassy in London since at least 2012.

The expulsion and public shaming are the latest chapter in a new cold war between most of Europe and Russia following the Ukraine invasion, amid fears that Moscow is expanding its attempts to choke off support for Kyiv. NATO recently said it was “deeply concerned” by Russian hostile state activity in countries including Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

These hybrid campaigns included sabotage, acts of violence, cyberattacks and disinformation, the security alliance said last week.

Weeks earlier, Germany detained two German-Russian nat­ionals on suspicion of gathering evidence on industrial and military installations.

Part of the measures Britain announced on Wednesday include imposing new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas, capping the length of time Russian diplomats can spend in Britain.

Officials didn’t give details as to what the time limit would be.

Seacox Heath is owned by the Russian government and used as a weekend retreat by diplomatic staff. Picture: Getty Images

The government also stripped diplomatic protection from several Russian properties in Britain, saying they were being used for spying. Among the properties is Seacox Heath, a mansion in Sussex owned by the Russian government and used as a weekend retreat by diplomatic staff.

Buildings deemed diplomatic premises cannot normally be searched by police without the permission of the country’s ambassador. Those buildings no longer have that protection, the government said.

The war in Ukraine had already decimated the Russian diplomatic spy corps. After the invasion, more than 400 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover were expelled across Europe.

MI6 chief Richard Moore has estimated the expulsions have cut Russia’s ability to spy in ­Europe by half.

Britain in particular took a hard line on Russian diplomats, ejecting more than 20 after it accused the Kremlin of poisoning a former spy on British soil in 2018.

Russia responded by ejecting a similar number of British diplomats. Britain has since then rejected around 100 diplomatic visas to Russia to stop it rebuilding its spy ranks.

Following the latest expulsion, British officials expect a tit-for-tat response from Russia.

Despite the expulsions, Russia has continued to allegedly cause trouble, often hiring ­foreign proxies to undertake work on the intelligence service’s behalf.

Last week, a British man who allegedly conducted the arson attack on the Ukrainian-linked business in London was charged under UK national-­security laws with being a Russian operative.

There is also a continuing court case against six Bulgarians allegedly hired by Russia to collect information “intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy” between 2020 and 2023.

The spy cell was allegedly run by Jan Marsalek, a former fintech executive wanted in Germany for a €1.9bn fraud who fled to Russia.

Recently, the Kremlin summoned British ambassador Nigel Casey after Lord Cameron said Ukraine “has the right” to launch attacks inside Russia with British-made weapons.

Britain’s response to the Russian covert activity has been to name and shame in the hope it can deter the Kremlin.

The Wall Street Journal