Russia has withdrawn its ambassador to the UK, leaving its embassy in London without a permanent envoy amid worsening tensions over Britain’s support for Ukraine.
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Andrey Kelin, who served as Russia’s ambassador to Britain for more than seven years, left his post on July 21.
The Kremlin has not nominated a successor, with the embassy currently headed by chargé d’affaires Vasily A Tsyganov, The Guardian reported.
The departure comes as Moscow and London remain locked in a bitter diplomatic dispute over the war in Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly accused Britain of taking a confrontational stance towards Moscow, while the UK has continued to back Kyiv.
A Russian embassy spokesperson said Kelin left Britain hoping that “a more constructive and respectful dialogue” could eventually be restored if the UK reconsidered its policies towards Russia.
The embassy has also warned Britain of unspecified “consequences” after reports that Ukrainian forces used British-made attack drones to strike targets inside Russian territory.
Britain’s Foreign Office said the matter was for Russia’s foreign ministry to address, while reaffirming London’s support for Kyiv.
“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, which has the right to defend itself against Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion,” the Foreign Office said.
The latest development has raised questions over whether Moscow could further downgrade diplomatic ties with London. However, the Russian embassy later clarified that there was nothing in its comments to suggest that Russia intended to downgrade relations.
The departure of Kelin comes against the backdrop of a sharp deterioration in UK-Russia relations since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has previously taken steps to reduce diplomatic ties with several European countries over their support for Kyiv.
