In mid-March, London accused Moscow of alleged involvement in poisoning of Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the A234 nerve agent. Russia has refuted all the allegations. On Tuesday, London said that cleanup work was underway in the UK town to decontaminate sites that could have been potentially affected by a substance used to poison the Skripals. In turn, the Russian side has voiced concerns that these activities could be an attempt to destroy evidence.
The press service of the UK Defense Ministry said citing Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson that 192 service personnel will help with the decontamination effort in Salisbury.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson: “I have regular discussions with the Chancellor and, as the Prime Minister announced last month, the MOD will benefit from an extra £800million this financial year, including £600million for the Dreadnought submarine programme” #DefenceOrals
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) 23 апреля 2018 г.
According to the ministry, Williamson has also stressed that the United Kingdom was enhancing its deterrence and defense capabilities in order to "prevent Russian aggression."
READ MORE: 'Another Russophobic Campaign' Adds to UK Government's New 'Project Fear'
The so-called Salisbury incident has already resulted in deterioration of relations between Russia and its Western partners, especially with the United Kingdom. Following the incident, over 25 countries expelled Russian diplomats siding with London’s claims of Moscow’s involvement in the incident. Russia has responded by expelling the same numbers of diplomats.
