Anniversary of the Skripals poisoning: where are they now and who else did Novichok try to kill

On March 4, 2018, on a bench in the English city of Salisbury, a man and a woman were found unconscious and with foam around their mouths. Later it turned out that they were a former officer of the Main Investigation Directorate Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The world first heard about the "Novichok" substance. Where are the Tablets now and who else was poisoned by "Novichok" in three years, the newspaper said. with the BBC.

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Many details of this high-profile crime still remain unsolved.

What is known

British authorities are confident that the Violinists were poisoned with Novichok, a nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union. It was this poison that was found on the handle of the front door of the Skripals' house in Salisbury.

But Sergei and Yulia managed to visit several places in the city, including a restaurant, even before they were affected by the poison. The doctors managed to save them, but other people also suffered from the poison.

For example, police officer Nick Bailey came into contact with poison in Skripal's house and barely survived. And later, in the neighboring town of Amesbury, Don Sturgess and Charlie Rowley were poisoned by the "Novice". The poison was in a bottle of perfume that Rowley had given Sturgess. The girl did not survive.

The then Prime Minister of Britain, Theresa May, said that Russia was highly likely to be involved in the attack on the Skripals.

“This attempted murder using a nerve agent was not just a crime against the Skripals. "This was a reckless act against the United Kingdom that put the lives of innocent civilians at risk," May said at the time. “And we will not tolerate such a brazen attempt to kill civilians on our soil.”

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Moscow said it had nothing to do with this.

The British police suspect two Russian citizens, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, of this poisoning.

A group of investigators stated that they were able to establish the real identities of the Russians - these are GRU colonels Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga.

Mishkin and Chepchika immediately appeared on Russian television and said that they simply decided to visit Salisbury as tourists and wanted to look at the spire of the famous cathedral.

Tourists dreamed of seeing the cathedral so much that they came to the city twice in 2 days. The first time, they said, they were prevented by snow and slush. By the way, according to the British police, the Russians never made it to the cathedral. Mishkin and Chepiga were put on the international wanted list.

What did the attack lead to

This high-profile crime led to a sharp deterioration in relations between the West and Russia. The visit of Sergey Lavrov to Britain was canceled. British ministers and representatives of the royal family boycotted the World Cup in Russia. Britain, the United States and a number of other countries have expelled over a hundred Russian diplomats. Russia responded in kind.

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But the main result is the introduction of sanctions against Russia.

How the lives of those affected have changed

Charles Rowley suffered several heart attacks and is now recovering. Nick Bailey worked as a police officer for another year, but then he quit, citing health problems.

What is still unknown

It is unknown where exactly Sergei and Yulia Skripal are located.

After the poisoning, police released Yulia's statements thanking the doctors, condemning the attacks, and politely refusing offers from the Russian embassy for help.

But there were no real interviews (with questions from journalists) with Yulia. In November 2020, a recording of Yulia’s alleged call to her cousin in Russia appeared in the Russian media.

If you believe its content, Julia and Sergei still live in Britain, and Sergei still needs regular medical care.

The veracity of this entry is unknown. It is also unknown what happened to "Boshirov" and "Petrov". After a sensational story about an unsuccessful visit to Salisbury, they disappeared from all radars.

And no one has proven 100% that Russia is behind the Skripal poisoning. London says there is evidence of Moscow's guilt, but it is classified.

Who else did they try to kill with "Novichok"

German authorities said Novichok substance was used for the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in August 2020. Navalny survived, Russian doctors managed to inject atropine on time. And then Alexei was taken to Germany for treatment.

A journalistic investigation concluded that a group of FSB officers were involved in the poisoning of Navalny.

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Some believe that "Novichok" was used for poisoning before. For example, in 2015, during the assassination attempt on the Bulgarian businessman Emelyan Gebrev. And in 1995, the Russian banker Ivan Kivelidi and his secretary died from poisoning with a mysterious poison. Now it is suspected that then the "Novice" was also used.

Russia says it has no reserves of Novichk. And he calls all the accusations of the West a provocation.

“I think if, as our British colleagues claimed, some kind of chemical warfare agent had been used, this man would have died on the spot,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the time.

But Britain insists on its own. On the eve of the next anniversary of the Skripal poisoning, Defense Minister Ben Walless said that he considered Russia a dangerous opponent. And the situation is now even more unpredictable than during the so-called Cold War.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on March 4. They were taken to hospital in critical condition. The police found that they were poisoned nerve agent. About 20 people were poisoned, including the policeman who first visited the scene and the house of Skripal. On the fact of poisoning a case of attempted murder.
• As a result, the ex-scout and his daughter came to their senses and live in a secret place in Britain in order to protect their safety.
• In Russia, Skripal was convicted in 2006 for spying for British intelligence. In 2010, he was exchanged for Russian intelligence agents uncovered in the United States.
• After investigating, Britain concluded that the nerve agent of the new generation of the group called “Novice” was used for the poisoning. Since no country other than Russia had access to this substance, London declared that Russia was most likely responsible for the attempt.
• Investigation UK accused of attempted murder of Petrov and Boshirov, calling them employees of the GRU.
• Russia denied these allegations, and President Vladimir Putin said that the suspects were civilians.
• Then suspects gave an interview to Russian journalists and stated that they had visited Salisbury to “see the cathedral”.
• After poisoning Scripal USA have introduced a package restrictions against Russia, which entered into force on 27 on August 2018.
• Previously ForumDaily опубликовал a complete list of sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe against Russia.
• Some media reported that Skripals secretly moved from Britain to another country.

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