Russia recalls ambassador from the United Kingdom
Russia, an aggressor state, has recalled its ambassador to the United Kingdom, Andrey Kelin. The diplomat left the country last month after seven years in office, and the Kremlin has not yet put forward a candidate to replace him.
The Guardian reports this. Kelin’s name has disappeared from the diplomatic list on the website of the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom. Only Vasily Tsyganov remains on the list of senior diplomatic staff, serving as chargé d’affaires.
Tensions over support for Ukraine
Relations between London and Moscow worsened after reports emerged that the United Kingdom was supplying strike drones to Kyiv. Last week, the Russian Embassy said there would be “consequences” for London in connection with such deliveries.
Sources at the UK Ministry of Defence said that reports that Ukrainian military personnel used two drones manufactured by British companies to strike targets on Russian territory were accurate.
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The future of diplomatic representation
John Foreman, a former British military attaché in Moscow and Kyiv, noted that gaps between ambassadorial appointments had occurred before. At the same time, he suggested that, due to a significant deterioration in bilateral relations, Moscow could downgrade diplomatic relations by not appointing a new ambassador.
A representative of the Russian Embassy told the Sunday Times that Kelin had sought to preserve channels of communication with the United Kingdom and accused the British government of choosing a confrontational course. According to the representative, the diplomat left the country hoping for a restoration of constructive dialogue if London reconsidered its policy toward Russia.
Former British serviceman Shaun Pinner, who fought alongside Ukrainian marines and spent some time in Russian captivity, said that full-fledged diplomatic contacts between the countries had in fact been absent for a long time. In his view, Moscow does not engage in meaningful dialogue and uses its diplomatic presence primarily to repeat Kremlin narratives.
