Russian Federation could announce measures against Britain “any minute”

A tit-for-tat reaction is expected to the British Prime Minister’s decision to kick out 23 diplomats who she said were undeclared intelligence officers.

Russian Federation was quick to deny the accusation and reiterated it was not involved in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury almost two weeks ago using nerve agent Novichok. Using a nerve agent like Novichok in a public place in a Western nation is a deliberate message that tells all those looking to dissent or to cooperate with foreign governments: We will find you and get you eventually.

Speaking as she met emergency services and residents of the Wiltshire city, Mrs May said: “We do hold Russian Federation culpable for this brazen and despicable act that has taken place on the streets of what is such a remarkable city”. “Any reference or mentioning of our President is nothing else but shocking and unpardonable diplomatic misconduct”.

Aside from confirming it would expel some British diplomats, without giving the number, Russian Federation has been coy about its potential responses.

Undeterred by the criticism from across the country and even within his own party, Corbyn didn’t endorse the British government’s claim that there was “no alternative conclusion” other than that the Russian state was culpable.

The Foreign Secretary was speaking during a visit to the Battle of Britain Bunker museum in Uxbridge with his Polish counterpart, Jacek Czaputowicz.

Soon after Mr. Johnson’s comments were reported, the Kremlin said accusations that President Putin was involved in the nerve agent attack were shocking, TASS news agency reported. “This use of chemical weapons is a clear violation of the worldwide law”, he said.

In a joint statement, they demanded Moscow “address all questions” related to the attack against Mr Skripal, which they said amounted to a “breach of global law”.

Lavrov on Friday (Saturday NZT) continued to deny and deflect blame, claiming again that British allegations of Russian involvement in Skripal’s poisoning were groundless and anti-Russian.

At the same time a separate probe was opened into the mysterious death of Nikolai Glushkov, a Russian exile who was found dead at his London home this week.

“Maybe he lacks education”, Mr Lavrov said. “At this stage there is nothing to suggest any link to the attempted murders in Salisbury, nor any evidence that he was poisoned”.

In a state-of-the-nation speech earlier this month, Putin said Russian Federation has tested an array of new nuclear weapons that are impossible to intercept.

On Thursday, British defense chief Gavin Williamson told BBC News that the United Kingdom government felt it had the right to tell any nation demanding physical evidence of a crime it was accused of committing on British soil to, “go away and shut up”.

“That does not mean we should resign ourselves to a “new cold war” of escalating arms spending, proxy conflicts across the globe and a McCarthyite intolerance of dissent”, he said.

The graffiti, alluding to Skripal’s alleged poisoning, was sprayed on the pavement near the Russian embassy in London following the dramatic deterioration of relations between the two countries.

In January he was sentenced in absentia to three years in prison for abusing his power in pardoning four policemen convicted of killing a banker.