The European Union is sanctioning four men over last year's poisoning of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia last March in Salisbury, England, and Russia is threatening to fight back.
CNN:
"We reserve the right to take retaliatory measures over this unfriendly step," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Monday, referring to the sanctions, which include a ban on travel and an asset freeze.
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Two of the men, GRU intelligence officers Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, were accused by UK authorities of carrying out the attack using nerve agent Novichok, which they have denied. The EU also sanctioned GRU head Igor Olegovich Kostyukov and his deputy, Vladimir Stepanovich Alexseyev.
Although the Skripals eventually recovered from the 2018 attack, the poison ended up in the hands of another British civilian couple, killing one woman.
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It is the first time the EU has used its new powers to impose sanctions on those connected with chemical weapons use and development, regardless of their nationality and location.
"This decision contributes to the EU's efforts to counter the proliferation and use of chemical weapons which poses a serious threat to international security," the EU's intergovernmental body, the European Council, said in a statement.
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Skripal, 66, was found slumped on a bench on March 4, 2018, along with his daughter, Yulia, after being exposed to Novichok, a military-grade nerve agent.
In an interview with the Kremlin-backed RT network last year, Petrov and Boshirov said that they were merely tourists during their trip to Salisbury, visiting its historic cathedral.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the decision.
"They are suspected groundlessly," he told reporters on a conference call. "We have still not heard any evidence."
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"We all know the selection of now already famous photographs of these two citizens in Britain. You also know there are many photographs of Russians in Britain and they are not direct evidence," Peskov said.
EU sanctions four Russians accused in Skripal poisoning (CNN)
Russia Calls Sanctions on Skripal Suspects "Groundless" (The Moscow Times)