Nerve Agent Poisoning of Former Russian Spy

On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer, was found unconscious on a public bench near a shopping centre together with his 33-year-old daughter. The pair had flown into London's Heathrow Airport from Russia one day prior to the attack, which took place in Salisbury. The Skripals had been poisoned using a rare nerve agent called Novichok that had been developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Sergei Skripal is a Russian citizen who formerly served as an intelligence officer for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate and a double agent for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service. Sergei was arrested late 2204 in Moscow, following which he was imprisoned under the charge of high treason. Following the Illegals Program spy swap, Sergei became a resident in Salisbury, UK. He and his daughter remain hospitalised and in critical condition.

Meanwhile, this dispute has placed UK-Russia relations under immense stress as diplomatics begin to crumble. UK originally responded to the attack by condemning it as a "brazen and reckless act" of attempted murder. On 12 March, UK's Prime Minister, Theresa May, previously accused Russia and declared that the only two explanations for the incident, the first being a direct act on UK by Russia and the second being a loss of control of the nerve agent by Russia which allowed other parties to gain possession of the weapon. She then demanded an explanation from Russia within a 24-hour deadline, billing the statement as an ultimatum and declaring that should no credible response be provided by Russia, the incident would be attributed to "unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom".

In turn, Russia responded by claiming that they did not have information on the attack, with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, endorsing remarks made by spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, which labelled Theresa May's ultimatum as "a circus show in the British parliament" and remarking that she had no right to issue it. In addition, Lavrov stated that Russia was entitled to have access to the substance in question according to procedure stipulated by the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Russian Embassy's current stance is that UK will receive no response from Moscow until it received samples of the chemical substance used in the attack. On 14 March, Theresa May proceeded to expel 23 Russian diplomats, an action which, according to the New York Times, raised UK-Russia tensions to 'a level not seen since the heights of the Cold War'. May has also declared that British ministers or royals would not attend the World Cup in Russia, to which Alexei Sorokin, chief of Russia's World Cup organising committee, replied "It will have no impact on the quality of the tournament. We still intend to organise it at the highest level." This augurs to the possibility that England's national team will be boycotting the first World Cup staged in Russia.

As ties between UK and Russia worsen, other countries have expressed their views. US President Donald Trump has stated that he believed that Russia was most likely responsible and Rex Tillerson, while he served as the US Secretary of State, conveyed in a statement that he supported UK's stance regarding the attack. Many countries from the EU have also condemned the attack, although not all were willing to mention or point fingers at Russia. Countries that have openly denounced Russia would include the US, France and Germany.

British authorities have advised that anyone who had close contact with Skripal on the day of the attack to wash their clothes as well as to use baby wipes, although no immediate health risks are posed and the risks to the general public are low.