Britain summons Russian ambassador, targets Moscow-owned homes and charges five alleged spies

The United Kingdom has summoned the Russian ambassador and announced a swathe of new measures against Moscow, including the targeting of Russian-owned buildings that the British government said have been “used for intelligence purposes.”

The United Kingdom has summoned the Russian ambassador and announced a swathe of new measures against Moscow, including the targeting of Russian-owned buildings that the British government said have been “used for intelligence purposes.” UK interior minister James Cleverly said Wednesday that the country is expelling the Russian defense attaché, who was described by the Foreign Office as “an undeclared military intelligence officer.” The measures also removed a special diplomatic status from several “Russian-owned properties,” which the government believes “have been used for intelligence purposes.” Those properties include a building in Highgate, north London, and Seacox Heath, a mansion in the countryside in Sussex, in southern England, that is owned by Russia’s government. Cleverly said the measures come after five Bulgarian nationals were charged “in connection with an investigation into alleged offences under the National Security Act, as part of a counterterrorism policing investigation.” The alleged offences relate “to a suspected arson attack on a Ukraine linked business in the UK,” which British prosecutors have confirmed “relate to alleged hostile activity in the UK in order to benefit a foreign state, namely Russia,” Cleverly said.