However, the United Kingdom seems to occupy a special place. „They don’t like Europe, but they truly hate the British, that’s the message that is conveyed when talking to the Russians,” said a high-ranking European diplomat in Moscow, who spoke to The Guardian on condition of anonymity.
What being an enemy of Great Britain means for Russia's actual policy towards the United Kingdom is hard to evaluate.
London knows how to catch the Russian "moles"
The United Kingdom is not the only country accusing Moscow of conducting a large-scale hybrid campaign on its territory. Across Europe, intelligence services have blamed Moscow for sabotage operations, arson, and disinformation that are part of a coordinated campaign against the West.
However, diplomatically, Moscow seems extremely reluctant to engage with London, even through private channels. Financial Times reported this week that London tried, unsuccessfully, to establish a discreet line of communication with Putin, while the Kremlin has been more receptive to Berlin and Paris.
Pavel Baev, a research professor at the Peace Research Institute Oslo, suggested that this could be due to the widespread public and political support for military aid to Ukraine in the UK, compared to other European countries where it is more contested.
"As a result," Baev said, "Moscow focuses more on Germany and France as potential channels to derail European rearmament plans."
The major vulnerability Russia is trying to exploit
Michael Clark noted that Moscow's hostility is exacerbated by what it perceives as the strategic vulnerability of Great Britain: a country aligned with Europe but increasingly isolated from it.
"Moscow sees that the United Kingdom has isolated itself from its European partners in the Brexit process and will need time to regain lost political ground among the major European powers," he said.
At the same time, Clarke wrote, the UK has been striving to maintain a renewed strategic partnership with the US, facing challenges in maintaining close ties under the Trump and Biden administrations. As evidence, the unprecedented decision taken by the UK to partially halt information exchange with the US on drug trafficking in the Caribbean amid suspicions that British data were used for lethal attacks not in line with international law.
"Therefore, from Moscow's perspective, the United Kingdom is more isolated than ever since 1914 and can be attacked," Clarke believes.
T.D.