Russia expelled a British diplomat who worked at the embassy in Moscow Tuesday, accusing him of spying, marking the latest blow to the two countries’ worsening diplomatic relations.

The Russian FSB security service named the diplomat, whose photo was splashed across TV news bulletins, as Edward Wilkes and alleged he had intentionally provided false information when he entered Russia – a claim disputed by the UK Foreign Office as “malicious and baseless”.

Russian authorities on Tuesday ordered a British diplomat to leave the country on allegations of spying as tensions soar over the conflict in Ukraine. Russia's Federal Security Service, the top domestic security and counterintelligence agency,