Russia has announced that it will expel 23 British diplomats within a week in response to London's "provocative" measures over the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
"Twenty three diplomatic staff at the British embassy in Moscow are declared persona non grata and to be expelled within a week," the country's foreign ministry said in a statement after summoning the British ambassador Laurie Bristow.
Moscow also decided to close the British Council in Russia and to withdraw permission for Britain to open a general consulate in St Petersburg.
Mr Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia, have been in a critical condition in hospital since being found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the English city of Salisbury earlier this month.
The announcement from Russia comes after British Prime Minster Theresa May announced earlier this week that 23 Russian diplomats were identified as undeclared intelligence officers and were given a week to leave the UK.
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She told Britain's parliament that it was "highly likely" that Moscow was responsible for the poisoning.
Mrs May said that either the Russian state was directly responsible for the poisoning or it had allowed a nerve agent to get into hands of others.
Speaking at the Conservative Party’s spring forum in London today, Mrs May said that Britain would consider its next steps alongside its allies in the coming days.
"We will never tolerate a threat to the life of British citizens and others on British soil from the Russian Government. We can be reassured by the strong support we have received from our friends and allies around the world," she said.
Yesterday, Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was "overwhelmingly likely" that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself made the decision to use a nerve toxin against Mr Skripal.
Russia has denied any responsibility for the attack on Mr Skripal and his daughter.
Today, it said that its actions was a response to Britain's "provocative actions" and "baseless accusations" over the incident in Salisbury.
The country's foreign ministry also warned Britain that "if further unfriendly actions are taken towards Russia, the Russian side retains the right to take other answering measures."
Speaking to reporters in Moscow afterwards, Mr Bristow said that the crisis had arisen after "the attempted murder of two people using a chemical weapon developed in Russia".
He said that Britain had expelled the Russian diplomats after Moscow had failed to explain how the nerve toxin had got to Britain.
"We will always do what is necessary to defend ourselves," Mr Bristow said.
