Description: Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, has announced it had expelled two British diplomats from Moscow citing espionage allegations. Tensions between the two countries have recently escalated, as the US has shifted its policy towards Russia and emerged as the main mediator for peace in the Ukraine – Russia war. The British Foreign Office has denounced the accusations of subverting possible peace efforts and reiterated that Russia is and always will be the aggressor in the war. British domestic security services have recently dismantled a highly sophisticated Russian spy ring, spearheaded by Austrian Jan Marsalek which further fueled tensions between the UK and Russia.
Impact: In the newly formulated European power dynamics caused by the US siding with Russia, the UK emerged as Russia’s number one public enemy. Bilateral tensions between the countries have significantly risen in the past couple of months with escalated covert activities by both countries’ foreign intelligence services. The UK would aim at further countering Russian hybrid and covert threats on the European continent while Russia would extend their hybrid efforts in form of disinformation campaigns, swaying of public opinion and election interference in an attempt to continuously destabilize European countries. Empowered by the restitution of relations with the US, Russia currently possesses the upper hand as the UK and other European countries are presently reconfiguring Europe’s geopolitical posturing and adapting towards the constantly revolving international conditions.