Ukraine has decided to expel 13 Russian diplomats in connection with the poisoning of former GRU agent Sergei Skripal in the UK. This was announced by President Petro Poroshenko on Facebook.
"In response to the cynical chemical attack in Salisbury (Great Britain), Ukraine, in the spirit of solidarity with our British partners and transatlantic allies and in coordination with the EU countries, decided to expel 13 Russian diplomats from the Ukrainian territory. It is known that our diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation have been de facto frozen", - Poroshenko noted.
According to him, Russia has once again confirmed its contemptuous disregard not only of the sovereignty of independent states, but also of the value of human life.
"Ukraine feels it every day in the occupied Ukrainian Crimea and Donbass. Therefore it is really important to look beyond symbolic gestures. The next step is to increase the prices for Moscow for committed international crimes, including the strengthening of personal, financial and economic sanctions", - the president noted.
He added that the joint response to the Kremlin should continue to be decisive and tough - "in order to prevent new human tragedies and ensure respect for the norms of international law".
As previously reported, on March 20, 23 Russian diplomats, whom the British government decided to send in response to the poisoning of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, left the territory of Great Britain. Prime Minister Theresa May called them spies.
Ex-intelligence officer Skripal and his daughter were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury Park in the south of Britain on March 4. Later, British investigators found that they had been poisoned with Novichok nerve agent, developed in Russia. 66-year-old Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter are in hospital in a "critical but stable" condition.