Hazardous material teams investigate the nerve agent attack which led to new US sanctions on Russia

Russia has threatened to cut off a supply of rocket engines that are crucial to the US space programme in retaliation for surprise sanctions over the Skripal poisoning.

The US State Department announced yesterday that it was imposing restrictions on the export of sensitive technology to Russia because of the country’s use of a nerve agent to attack a former MI6 spy in Britain.

There was anger and indignation in Moscow this morning, where politicians labelled the measures “draconian” and denied that Russia had any role in the attempt to kill Sergei Skripal, the agent, and his daughter, Yulia, using the nerve agent novichok.

Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy representative to the United Nations, said that claims that the Kremlin was involved were “absurd”.