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Article snippet: The Trump administration is imposing new sanctions on Russia over Moscow’s use of a nerve agent in Britain against an ex-Russian spy. The State Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the new sanctions would take effect on or around Aug. 22. The United States joined Britain and other European allies in blaming Moscow for the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Britain earlier this year. The U.S., Britain, France and Germany issued a statement earlier this year condemning the March 4 attack as a “breach of international law” and a threat to international security. “The United Kingdom thoroughly briefed its allies that it was highly likely that Russia was responsible for the attack,” the governments said in a joint statement on March 15. “We share the United Kingdom's assessment that there is no plausible alternative explanation, and note that Russia's failure to address the legitimate request by the government of the United Kingdom further underlines Russia's responsibility.” Later in the month, Trump expelled 60 Russian intelligence agents and shuttered a Russian diplomatic facility in Seattle in response to the nerve agent attack. Russia has denied involvement in the poisoning. But the Trump administration never determined officially that Russia violated international law in its use of the nerve agent to trigger sanctions under the 1991 law, until now. The sanctions will restrict the licenses granted f... Link to the full article to read more