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Britain’s expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats marks a return to Cold War ejections

Analysis by
Reporter
March 14, 2018 at 12:00 p.m. EDT
Russian's foreign minister confirmed March 16 the country would expel British diplomats after Britain made a similar move for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal. (Video: The Washington Post)

Prime Minister Theresa May announced Wednesday that her government will expel 23 Russian diplomats from Britain. It will be the biggest expulsion of Russian diplomats from the country since 1985 — marking a return to the large-scale diplomatic ejections that took place during the Cold War.

May's announcement came after the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his daughter, Yulia, 33, in the English town of Salisbury. British authorities have concluded that the two appeared to have been targeted for assassination last week with the nerve agent Novichok, which traces back to the Russian state.