Russian security forces have accused the British Council, a UK agency responsible for education and culture, of spying in Ukraine, alleging that it serves as a facade for intelligence operations.
The organization focuses on international educational initiatives, operating in over 100 countries to foster understanding of the United Kingdom and the English language. According to Russia’s FSB, the British Council, purportedly under Kyiv’s interests, conducted intelligence activities through entities it controlled.
The security service claimed that the agency, inactive in Russia since 2018, had gathered information in areas of the Kherson region occupied by Russian forces.