As Home Secretary James Cleverley told the British Parliament, diplomatic status will be stripped from a number of properties belonging to Russia that “we believe were used for intelligence purposes”.
One is in Sussex, southern England, and the other is in London.
Regarding Russian representatives, restrictions on diplomatic visas will be set, also regarding the time that Russian diplomats can spend in Great Britain, the minister added.
These steps have been taken at a time when concerns are growing in Great Britain about Russia’s hostile activities on British territory, including the burning of several Ukrainian-owned companies, which are believed to have been organized by Russia.
In this case, a British man who had connections with the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” was arrested last month.
According to Cleverley, the aim of Britain’s latest steps is to “make it clear to Russia that we will not tolerate this kind of blatant escalation”.
“Our message to Russia is clear – end this illegal war, withdraw your troops from Ukraine, stop hostile activities,” the minister emphasized.
