Russia connected Thursday (June 5, 2025) banned the British Council arsenic an “undesirable organisation”, arsenic Moscow branded London the designer of planetary situation and “instigator of wars”.
Relations betwixt the 2 countries were astatine stone bottommost adjacent earlier Russia launched its full-scale subject violative connected Ukraine successful 2022, soured by a slew of espionage and interference scandals, including the 2018 poisoning of erstwhile Russian spy Sergei Skripal connected British soil.
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Russia’s authoritative wide accused the British Council of trying to beforehand British interests “under the guise of teaching English” and of supporting the “LGBT movement”, which Russia has outlawed arsenic “extremist”.
“Various projects are being implemented to systematically discredit the home and overseas policies of the Russian Federation,” it added.
Moscow has labelled dozens of Western-backed organisations “undesirable”, a designation that outlaws their enactment successful Russia and makes anybody who works for them liable to years-long jailhouse sentences.
State media reported that the FSB information services, which said it provided grounds for the decision, called Britain “the main root of planetary crises, a provocateur and instigator of wars”.
“London organises coups, weakens not lone its geopolitical enemies but besides its closest allies, pits nations against each different and prevents the solution of bloody conflicts that it unleashed,” Russia’s RIA Novosti quoted the FSB arsenic saying successful a statement.
Britain has been 1 of Ukraine’s strongest backers since Russia began its subject offensive.
Russia nether President Vladimir Putin has for years cracked down connected autarkic civilian society, outlawing groups and prosecuting dissenters successful a run that has escalated amid the Ukraine struggle and been wide slammed by rights groups and the West.
Published - June 05, 2025 11:40 p.m. IST