; Whereas former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko was killed by a radioactive substance in London in November 2006, and an inquiry by the Government of the United Kingdom found that President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin probably approved the murder; Whereas, on March 4, 2018, Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, United Kingdom; Whereas dozens of British civilians and first responders were exposed to the nerve agent, a British police officer who responded to the attack remains seriously ill, and the lives of innocent British citizens and residents of Salisbury have been endangered; Whereas, on March 12, 2018, Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, in a speech before the House of Commons, noted that the attack was conducted with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia. This is part of a group of nerve agents known as Novichok ; Whereas, on March 12, 2018, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson noted the nerve agent came from Russia and does not exist widely , and that its use would certainly trigger a response ; Whereas, on March 14, 2018, the United Kingdom expelled 23 Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers; Whereas, on March 14, 2018, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the United States stands in absolute solidarity with the United Kingdom and that the United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack ; and Whereas, on March 15, 2018, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany issued a joint statement and noted the incident constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War and that there is no plausible alternative explanation to Russia’s responsibility for the attack: Now, therefore, be it