The US is slapping Russia with new sanctions over allegations they poisoned an ex-spy on UK soil

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Police officers in protective suits and masks work near the scene where former double-agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia were discovered.

• The Trump administration is planning to impose targeted sanctions on Russia over their alleged March poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on British soil.
• The sanctions will target exports of US national security equipment and products to Russia.
• The Skripals were poisoned by a powerful Novichok nerve agent, a type of poison developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s, but Russia has denied any involvement.

The Trump administration is planning to impose targeted sanctions on Russia over their alleged March poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on British soil, the US State Department said Wednesday.

The State Department said the sanctions were based on their determination "government of the Russian Federation has used chemical or biological weapons in violation of international law or has used lethal chemical or biological weapons against its own nationals."

They are scheduled to go into effect on August 22 after a 15-day congressional notification period.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found collapsed in Salisbury, England, in early March. Medical examinations determined they had been poisoned by a powerful Novichok nerve agent, a type of poison developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s.

In the wake of the attack, the US concurred with other nations including the UK, France, and Germany in determining it was "highly likely" that Russia was behind the poisoning. The Kremlin, however, has consistently denied those allegations and offered a series of contradictory explanations as to who was responsible.

The sanctions will reportedly be structured in two parts, according to NBC News. The US will first impose restrictions on exports and financing, as well as completely blocking licenses that would allow powerful national security and military equipment and technology to be exported to Russia.

If Russia does not supply the US with "reliable assurances" it will no longer use chemical weapons and does not consent to allowing UN inspectors into the country, the US could hit Russia with second wave of more serious sanctions, according to NBC, which cited a State Department official.

The second round could include more limits on trade, deep cuts to diplomatic relations, and restrictions on Russia's state airline being allowed in US airspace. The US has already decreased the number of Russian diplomats in the US when followed the UK's lead by expelling dozens of Russian envoys it said were spies earlier this year.