```
On September 21, 1889, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs delivered a declaration of war to the British ambassador stationed in St. Petersburg, marking the second time that Britain and Russia had taken to the battlefield since the end of the first Near East War.
This time, there was ample notice. The Russian Army didn't launch an attack until the third day after declaring war, fully in accordance with international law.
Of course, the Tsarist Government wasn't simply playing by the rules. Deep within the Afghan Region, the British had yet to lay telegraph wires, and the fastest messages could take over a week to deliver.
London
Inside the UK Government Building, Prime Minister Gladstone, with a frown etched on his face, asked, "Wasn't it said that the Russians weren't ready for war? Why then has the war broken out prematurely?"
Britain wasn't an iron simpleton; while preparing for war, they hadn't forgotten to collect intelligence on the Russians' preparedness.
