Russia recalls UK ambassador amid British support for Ukraine
Russian Federation pulled ambassador from London in protest of the country's support for Ukraine (photo: Getty Images)
Andrey Kelin left his post as Russian ambassador to the UK last month after serving for seven years. The Kremlin has yet to name his replacement, according to The Guardian.
Ambassador departs
Andrey Kelin left his diplomatic post as a Russian ambassador to the UK last month after seven years in the position, the Russian Embassy in London reports.
Russia's online list of senior diplomatic staff in the UK now includes only Vasily Tsyganov, the embassy's chargé d'affaires.
Tensions between Moscow and London have intensified, and last week the Russian Embassy warned of consequences after it emerged that the UK was supplying Ukraine with strike drones.
The gap between ambassadors was not unprecedented, said John Foreman, a former British defense attaché in Moscow and Kyiv.
However, he wrote in a post on X that the embassy's strongly worded warning about consequences and the deterioration of bilateral relations raise the question of whether Moscow might take the unprecedented step of allowing ties to deteriorate further without appointing a new ambassador.
Russian embassy's stance
An embassy spokesperson said Kelin's diplomatic mission ended on July 21. "As for the state of Russia-UK relations across all areas, they have deteriorated to an unprecedentedly low level entirely on London's initiative," the diplomatic mission added.
The spokesperson noted that Kelin made efforts to maintain communication channels with the UK and accused the government of choosing a path of confrontation with Russia.
"He left Britain in the hope that a more constructive and respectful dialogue could eventually be restored, should the UK reconsider its policies towards our country," the embassy said, adding that the Kremlin has not yet nominated a candidate to replace Kelin.
The embassy later issued a statement saying there was nothing in the comments to suggest that Russia intended to further worsen diplomatic relations with Britain.
How London responds
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"We have an ambassador and embassy in Moscow to engage and raise concerns with the Russian government," the spokesperson said, adding that the UK continues to support Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russian invasion.
As previously reported, The Times said recently that Ukrainian forces have been using British-made Nyan jet-powered drones for strikes deep inside Russia for the past six months.
Following the report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called Britain a participant in the war against Russia.
