A man has been charged in the United Kingdom with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing an act of sabotage following alleged contact with a group linked to Russian military intelligence. The Crown Prosecution Service announced the charges on Wednesday.
Joshua Kimmill, 31, allegedly maintained contact with a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps and received instructions from them. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, this group is controlled by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency.
Investigation and legal proceedings
The investigation was conducted by the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command. Joshua Kimmill, a British national, was arrested by counter-terrorism officers on September 4 in Swindon. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
The Russian Embassy in London did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment.
UK-Russia relations
Relations between the United Kingdom and Russia have deteriorated sharply since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. British authorities have increasingly warned of alleged Russian espionage, sabotage, and other hostile state-sponsored activities.
Last month, Russia warned that it could strike British military facilities in response to Ukrainian attacks using long-range missiles supplied by the United Kingdom.
Source: The Straits Times
