Moscow is facing a “global wave of revulsion” in response to the nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy, Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said.
His intervention came after British counter-terror police on Wednesday said Sergei Skripal and his daughter first came into contact with a nerve agent at their home address in Britain — with the highest concentration on the front door. The March 4 attack on the Skripals in the English city of Salisbury has been met with a major response that has seen more than 150 Russian diplomats expelled from countries around the world.
British authorities have blamed Moscow, which denies any involvement, and said a Soviet-designed nerve agent dubbed Novichok was used in the poisoning. “The Kremlin underestimated the strength of global feeling,” Mr. Johnson said at a speech late on Wednesday in London. “These expulsions represent a moment when a feeling has suddenly crystallised.
British police said around 250 counter-terrorism detectives are working on the case, which could continue for months.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said Britain’s handling of the attack “suggests a possible involvement of the U.K. intelligence services”.
