LONDON: The poisoning of a Russian former double agent in a British city is the latest episode in a deteriorating relationship between London and Moscow.
Here is a recap of the clashes leading up to the ex-spy Sergei Skripal incident:
Poisoning of dissidents
The most infamous case is that of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian secret service agent and dissident who died in agony three weeks after being poisoned with the radioactive substance Polonium-210 in London in 2006.
The British investigation, denounced as a “joke” by Moscow, found it “probable” that the Kremlin had ordered the defector’s assassination.
Since then, the suspicious deaths in England of Russian businessman Alexander Perepilichny and oligarch Boris Berezovsky have also fuelled suspicions against Moscow.
Military incursions
Russian planes and ships have in recent months made multiple incursions close to British airspace and territorial waters, leading London to harden its stance against the Kremlin.
“The Royal Navy maintains a vigilant watch and is always ready to keep Britain safe,” then-defence minister Michael Fallon said in April 2017, as two Russian military vessels were escorted through the English Channel.
New Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson ratcheted up the rhetoric after another Russian warship approached the North Sea.
“I will not hesitate in defending our waters or tolerate any form of aggression,” he said.
In January, the Royal Air Force was forced to escort two Russian Tupolev supersonic bombers near British airspace.
In response, British forces staged a major war drill in Estonia, just around 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the border with Russia.
Williamson called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “real threat”, warning he had the potential to cause “total chaos”.
Cyber warfare
The British government last month declared Russia responsible for the NotPetya cyber-attack in June 2017, which affected the world’s top advertising group, British-based WPP.
In November, British Prime Minister Theresa May accused Russia of cyber espionage campaigns and of disrupting elections by spreading false information on the internet.
“We know what you are doing and you will not succeed,” she said.
“You underestimate the resilience of our democracies, the enduring attraction of free and open societies, and the commitment of Western nations to the alliances that bind us.”
Several British MPs also accused Russia of meddling online during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign.
Facebook said it found only three ads funded by a Russian company.
International conflicts
Since the conflict broke out in Ukraine at the end of 2013, Britain has been one of the loudest critics of Putin’s policy, denouncing Moscow’s “illegal annexation” of Crimea.
The war in Syria is the other major geopolitical issue that has led the two countries to butt heads.
Earlier this month, London once again accused the Russian army of bombing civilians alongside the Syrian army, despite a UN ceasefire vote.
“Russia and the regime must cease hostilities, ensure sustained delivery of aid,” British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said.
