Western diplomats describe surveillance and pressure in wartime Moscow

Western diplomats who served in Moscow after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine told the BBC about surveillance, pressure on local staff and obstacles to embassy work. The interviewees included former US and French ambassadors Lynne Tracy and Pierre Lévy.

Tracy, who represented the United States in Moscow from 2023 to 2025, called the posting the hardest of her career. She said uncertainty and persistent pressure from Russian counterintelligence made it more difficult than her time in Pakistan, where she survived an armed attack in 2008.

Diplomats told the BBC that Russian intelligence services monitored them and their contacts. One former European diplomat recalled being warned before going to Moscow to expect listening devices and cameras in residences.

Pressure on embassy staff and guests

A former ambassador said the FSB tried to recruit two Russian employees at his mission and demanded that they report on everything taking place there. They informed the embassy and were dismissed; the diplomat said they might otherwise have faced criminal prosecution.

Diplomats also said Russians in academic and cultural circles were wary of contact with Western officials. One former ambassador said FSB agents followed his guests to the embassy entrance. In June, guests at a King’s birthday celebration at the British ambassador’s residence said they were harassed by pro-Kremlin activists and state-media journalists, then questioned by police. One guest later declined several invitations to Western embassy events.

A former ambassador said constant anxiety had driven some officials to leave their jobs. He added that he continued looking over his shoulder for months after leaving Russia.

Embassies faced resource shortages

After the invasion began, European countries discussed whether to recall their ambassadors and end their work in Russia. Former French ambassador Pierre Lévy said he called Paris to argue against withdrawing envoys, believing their presence became more important as relations worsened.

Work on bilateral relations, trade and joint projects became impossible, another former European ambassador said. Diplomats also sought to maintain channels with Russian officials, protect staff and keep their missions operating.

The US embassy faced staffing shortages after Russia’s 2021 ban on hiring foreign nationals. Sanctions, the disconnection of Russian banks from the Swift payment network, and the suspension of Mastercard and Visa operations in Russia made routine payments harder. One former ambassador said his mission ran out of cash to pay staff until another diplomat brought rubles to the embassy in a suitcase.

Diplomats remained a channel of communication

Russian officials accused representatives of “unfriendly countries” of espionage. Russian journalist Alexei Venediktov told the BBC that Russian officials had effectively been barred from speaking to most Western embassies. One former European ambassador said contact between Moscow and many Western governments had nearly ceased, with no calls or ministerial-level meetings.

Even so, diplomats remained a channel for conveying their governments’ positions to Russian authorities. Tracy left Moscow in 2025 believing she had fulfilled her main mission of keeping the US embassy standing. She also praised her team’s work to sustain connections between Americans and ordinary Russians.