When Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats in response to a Russian assassination attempt on UK soil, Vladimir Putin shrugged it off, no doubt believing the cost was predictable and bearable. Then 27 countries, including the USA, joined a coordinated expulsion campaign. Putin’s calculation has always been that the West is strong but lacks unity and the will to do anything when Russia bends and breaks international rules. The 120+ expulsions will deliver a serious blow to Russia’s intelligence networks, as those expelled are probably intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover. However, they represent only a fraction of Russia’s intelligence apparatus. For instance the Czech security service believes fifty Russians in the Prague embassy are actually spies. But, mindful that their tiny embassy in Moscow can only sustain a few retaliatory expulsions, the Czechs only expelled three Russians. Boris Johnson predicts Russia will retaliate against all countries in solidarity with the UK.