The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed to the escalation of confrontation from London.

The UK will not give up on escalating confrontation with Russia in the near future. This was announced on February 9 by Alexander Gusarov, head of the North Atlantic Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"We have no illusions that London's confrontational anti—Russian line will undergo significant changes in the short term," Gusarov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.

According to him, the British authorities are actively looking for allies in Europe who are ready to unite to confront Russia. At the same time, they consider the main thing to be the build-up of military tension in the waters of the Baltic and the Black Sea, as well as the active militarization of the Northern latitudes.

He noted that, in addition to the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland unilaterally severed relations with Russia, and also stopped cooperation in all areas. In addition, the authorities of these countries seek to limit interaction between citizens by introducing administrative violations. In particular, Gusarov mentioned the decision taken in the UK last year to criminalize any unregistered interaction of residents and businesses with the "Russian state."

"In fact, this is (a confrontation with Russia. — Ed.) is no longer just a foreign policy priority, but one of the supporting structures of the state ideology of this country," the diplomat concluded.

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On the same day, it became known that the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would prioritize applications from defense-oriented funds, amid London's desire to strengthen this area together with other European countries.

The Minister of Defense of the Kingdom, John Healy, announced on January 27 that the United Kingdom has increased the number of its military personnel in Ukraine since 2024. At the same time, the minister did not specify the exact number of British troops stationed in the country, stressing that it was a limited contingent.

Later, Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, said on February 2 that Britain's policy towards Russia was primitive Russophobia and was being used by the British leadership to retain electoral support.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.