Ukraine said it would expel 13 Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated response by Europe and the United States to the poisoning in the United Kingdom of a former Russian spy, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on March 26.
“In a spirit of solidarity with our British partners and transatlantic allies, and in coordination with European Union countries, (the government) has decided on the expulsion of 13 Russian diplomats from those few remaining on Ukrainian territory,” Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on Monday.
Poroshenko said that “Russia had once again confirmed its dismissive attitude not only to the sovereignty of independent states, but also to the value of human life.”
The next step, according to Poroshenko, is to impose more personal, financial and economic sanctions on Russia to “increase the price Moscow pays for its international crimes.”
“Our joint response to the Kremlin will continue to be decisive and rigorous in order to prevent new human tragedies,” he added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin tweeted that Ukraine has been preparing for the expulsions for some time, “but have decided to act now in co-ordination with our friends and partners in the democratic transatlantic community, of which we are a part.”
We have decided to expel 13 Russian diplomats from Ukraine. We have been preparing for this for some time, but have decided to act now in co-ordination with our friends and partners in the democratic transatlantic community of which we are part.
— Pavlo Klimkin (@PavloKlimkin) March 26, 2018
The British Embassy in Ukraine thanked “for standing in solidarity.”
We would like to thank our Ukrainian partners for standing in solidarity with the UK and our European and Transatlantic Allies #Salisbury #SalisburyAttack https://t.co/5KKSFuLxvc
— UK in Ukraine ???? (@UKinUkraine) March 26, 2018
It was highly likely Russia was behind the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in southern England, using a military-grade nerve agent, EU leaders agreed last week. This, if true, would be the first known offensive use of a nerve toxin in Europe since the Second World War.
Germany, France and the United States have also announced they are each expelling Russian diplomats, with the U.S. expelling 60 of them and calling the attack an “outrageous violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law.”
Fourteen other European countries have done the same.
Russia denies having any role in the March 4 attack.
Britain expelled 23 Russians on March 14. Three days after, on March 17, Russia mirrored the measures, expelling 23 British diplomats from its territory. Moscow has also ordered the closure of the U.K.’s consulate in St. Petersburg and the British Council, a cultural organization, in Moscow.
Earlier on March 26, Estonia, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania summoned the Russian ambassadors in their countries to their foreign ministries.
