Third Russian identified as suspect in UK nerve agent attack: Telegraph

The man, named as a Russian military intelligence officer, is believed to have carried out a reconnaissance mission before the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the city of Salisbury in March, according to The Telegraph, a leading British daily.

The GRU agent is believed to have visited Salisbury to help plan the nerve agent attack, The Telegraph reported, citing British counter-terrorism police and security services.

Earlier this month, two Russians were named as suspects in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter.

Skripal, a former Russian intelligence agent convicted of spying for Britain, and his daughter Yulia are believed to have been poisoned with deadly Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, a picturesque city near the famous ancient ruins of Stonehenge.

In response to the incident, London in March expelled 23 Russian diplomats believed to be intelligence agents.

Poland expelled four Russian diplomats as part of a coordinated international response to the suspected nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Polish Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said at the time that Britain had been targeted in an "unprecedented attack which was the first deliberate use of chemical weapons against a group of civilians in Europe in the history of post-war Europe.”

Czaputowicz said in mid-March that Warsaw was “certain” that Moscow was involved in the suspected attack.

Moscow has denied allegations of Russian involvement.

(gs)

Source: IAR