US expels scores of Russians over UK poisoning

The United States announced last week that it would expel 60 Russian diplomats, joining governments across Europe in punishing the Kremlin for a

nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain that they have blamed on Moscow.

It was the strongest action that US president Donald Trump had taken against Russia since coming to office. He has been criticised by Democrats and members of his own Republican Party for failing to be tough enough on Russia over U.S. allegations of Russian meddling in the U.S. electoral system, including the 2016 presidential campaign.

British Prime Minister Theresa May, welcoming the show of solidarity, said 18 countries had announced plans to expel Russian officials. Those included 14 European Union countries. In total, 100 Russian diplomats were being removed, the biggest Western expulsion of Russian diplomats since the height of the Cold War.

Australia followed suit confirming that it was expelling two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers. New Zealand said it had no such agents operating on its shores but would expel them if it did. “Extraordinary international response stands in history as the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers ever and will help defend our shared security,” British foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on Twitter.

Hitting back to the expulsion, the Kremlin has also ordered the expulsion of 60 American diplomats and closed the US consulate in St Petersburg.