The United States and Britain's allies around the world have expelled scores of suspected Russian spies in an unprecedented response to a nerve agent attack.

At least 116 alleged agents working under diplomatic cover were ordered out by 22 governments, dwarfing similar measures in even the most notorious Cold War spying disputes, and marking a British diplomatic victory.
Washington led the way, ordering out 60 Russians, in a new blow to US-Russia ties less than a week after President Donald Trump congratulated his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his re-election.
Canada, Ukraine, Albania, Australia, and most European Union states matched the move with smaller-scale expulsions, after Britain urged allies to respond to the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal.
Russia has denied it was behind the attempted assassination, which left Skripal and his daughter gravely ill in perhaps the first nerve agent attack in Europe since World War II.
It warned that there would be a tit-for-tat response to those countries "pandering to British authorities" without, Moscow claims, fully understanding what had happened.
But Western officials made it clear in announcing the expulsions that they share Britain's assessment that only the Kremlin could have been behind the March 4 incident in Salisbury, England.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Washington and its allies were acting "in response to Russia's use of a military-grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom."
The strong language contrasted with Trump's warm words of last week, when he overrode his advisors' concerns and congratulated Putin on his election win.

Consulate closed


US officials said that 48 "intelligence officers" attached to Russian diplomatic missions in the US would be expelled, along with 12 accredited to the United Nations in New York.
The Russians have been given until April 2 to leave US territory and close the consulate -- although the consul's residence will be left open until April 25.
"Once that deadline has passed the properties will no longer enjoy diplomatic status or protections," a State Department official told AFP. 
Trump's ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, welcomed the move while condemning the alleged Russian attack, as did the US ambassador to Moscow Jon Huntsman.
But Trump himself, who usually likes to tweet or hold a press event for major announcements, was silent.
In addition, the Russian consulate general in Seattle will be closed, the White House said.
This represents the largest US expulsion of Russian or Soviet agents ever and comes after Trump's predecessor Barack Obama expelled 35 in late 2016 over alleged election meddling.
Russia's foreign ministry warned that the "unfriendly step by this group of countries will not pass without trace and we will respond to it."
The Russian embassy in Washington asked its Twitter followers to vote on which US consulate should be closed, listing those in Vladivostok, St Petersburg and Yekaterinburg as options.
Russia's ambassador to the United States told state-run Sputnik News the move was "a serious blow to the quantitative and qualitative composition of the Russian embassy in Washington, DC."
It was not immediately clear how many Russians are assigned to its various US missions, but in 2016 Putin ordered the United States to reduce its Moscow personnel to 455 to achieve parity.
Canada confirmed it was expelling four Russians, Ukraine 13, Albania two, Norway two and Macedonia two. At least 16 EU member states are kicking out agents. 
Australia expelled two Russian diplomats Tuesday in response to the "shocking" Skripal attack, which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said was part of "a pattern of reckless and deliberate conduct by the Russian state that constitutes a growing threat to international security".
Iceland said Monday that it would send no government officials to Russia to accompany its team to the football World Cup this summer. 
Britain welcomed its allies' decision as a diplomatic and moral victory, after concerns that some would prefer not to offend Moscow despite international horror over the attack.
"I have found great solidarity from our friends and partners in the EU, NATO, America and beyond," Prime Minister Theresa May told parliament.
More than three weeks after the attack, which Britain says was carried out by a nerve agent exclusively developed by Russia, the Skripals are still in a coma in hospital.
A British policeman who was exposed to the nerve agent when he responded to the attack on the former Russian officer has now been released from treatment.
A British judge ruled last week that blood samples from former Russian spy Skripal and his daughter Yulia could be taken for testing by the world chemical weapons body (OPCW).
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