International security

Britain's tough new warning to Russia

On Monday evening, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that Britain will do more to counter Russian aggression.

Offering a "very simple message for Russia," May lamented Russian President Vladimir Putin's activities over the past three years. "Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea was the first time since the Second World War that one sovereign nation has forcibly taken territory from another in Europe." The Prime Minister continued, "Since then, Russia has fomented conflict in the Donbas, repeatedly violated the national airspace of several European countries, and mounted a sustained campaign of cyber espionage and disruption."

Highlighting Russian propaganda efforts, May noted that Putin uses "state-run media organizations to plant fake stories and photo-shopped images in an attempt to sow discord in the West and undermine our institutions."

But it was May's pledge to "tighten our financial regimes to ensure the profits of corruption cannot flow from Russia into the UK" that was most striking.

It would be a 180-degree reversal.

Attracted by the money they inject into Britain's economy, Britain has long allowed Russian organized crime lords and Putin's assassins to run amok in the U.K. Ignoring these activities, Britain has become a fiefdom of thinly veiled Russian intelligence front organizations and intelligence recruiters.

May's words suggest a sea change in approach.