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British ambassador advises citizens to leave Russia

DPA WORLD
Published July 06,2023
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The British embassy in Moscow has urged its own citizens to leave Russia.

"As we have seen, the situation here in Russia is unpredictable," Ambassador Deborah Bronnert said in a video message posted on the diplomatic mission's Telegram channel on Wednesday.

If staying in Russia is not imperative, she advised leaving the country.

Relations between Russia and the West have been severely strained against the backdrop of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Russian intelligence arrested Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich for alleged espionage. Shortly after the outbreak of war, the US government had already urged its own citizens to leave Russia.

The German government, on the other hand, has so far only advised against travel to Russia.

Bronnert's appeal came barely two weeks after the unsuccessful revolt of the Russian private Wagner military group. The mercenaries, who had long fought alongside Moscow in Ukraine, had occupied the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, marched towards Moscow and shot down several helicopters and an aircraft.

Only after hundreds of kilometres did mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former confidant of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, give the order to withdraw. In return, the rebel mercenaries received an amnesty from the Kremlin and fled to Belarus. According to experts, the revolt shows how unstable the situation in Russia is.