Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal

On 4 March 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the UK's intelligence services, and his daughter, Yulia Skripal, were poisoned in the city of Salisbury, England with a Novichok nerve agent, according to UK sources[4][5] and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).[6] After three weeks in a critical condition, Yulia regained consciousness and was able to speak; she was discharged from hospital on 9 April.[7][8] Sergei was also in a critical condition until he regained consciousness one month after the attack; he was discharged on 18 May.[9][10] A police officer was also taken into intensive care after attending the incident. By 22 March he had recovered enough to leave the hospital.[11][12][13][lower-alpha 1]

Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
A forensics tent covers the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal fell unconscious
Location	Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Date	4 March 2018
Target	Sergei Viktorovich Skripal Yulia Sergeevna Skripal
Weapons	A-234 (suspected chemical weapon used)
Victims	3 admitted to hospital (subsequently discharged): The Skripals Det Sgt Nick Bailey, Wilts Police. Two other people were poisoned later, one died
Accused	Russian nationals "Alexander Petrov" (alleged alias of Dr. Alexander Mishkin[1]) and "Ruslan Boshirov"[2] (alleged alias of Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga)[3]

In the 1990s, Sergei Skripal was an officer for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) and worked as a double agent for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service from 1995 until his arrest in Moscow in December 2004. In August 2006, he was convicted of high treason and sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony by a Russian court.[15] He settled in the UK in 2010 following the Illegals Program spy swap.[16] Sergei holds dual Russian and British citizenship; Yulia is a Russian citizen, and was visiting her father from Moscow.[17]

Later on 12 March, the British government accused Russia of attempted murder and announced a series of punitive measures against Russia, including the expulsion of diplomats, on the 14 March. The UK's official assessment of the incident was supported by 28 other countries which responded similarly. Altogether, an unprecedented 153 Russian diplomats were expelled.[18] Russia denied the accusations and responded similarly to the expulsions and "accused Britain of the poisoning."[19]

On 30 June 2018, a similar poisoning of two British nationals in Amesbury, seven miles north of Salisbury, involved the same nerve agent.[20][21] A man found a perfume bottle, later discovered to contain the agent, in a litter bin somewhere in Salisbury and gave it to a woman who sprayed it on her wrist.[22][23] The woman, Dawn Sturgess, fell ill within 15 minutes and died on 8 July, but the man, Charlie Rowley, who also came into contact with the poison, survived.[24] British police believe this incident was not a targeted attack, but a result of the way the nerve agent was disposed of after the poisoning in Salisbury.[25]

On 5 September 2018, British authorities identified two Russian nationals, using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, as suspected of the Skripals' poisoning,[2] and alleged that they were active officers in Russian military intelligence.[26] On 26 September 2018, investigative website Bellingcat published a statement that it had positively identified the man known as Ruslan Boshirov as the highly decorated GRU Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga.[27] On 8 October 2018, Bellingcat claimed the real identity of the suspect named by police as Alexander Petrov to be Dr. Alexander Mishkin, also of the GRU.[28][29] A third GRU officer present in the UK during the time Sergey and Yulia Skripal fell into a coma has been identified as Denis Vyacheslavovich Sergeev, a graduate of Russia's Military Diplomatic Academy.[30][31] Denis Sergeyev is believed to hold the rank of major general in the GRU. The pattern of his communications while in the UK indicates that Maj Gen Sergeyev liaised with superior officers in Moscow.[32] The attempted assassination was allegedly organized by a secret Unit 29155 of the Russian GRU under command of Maj. Gen. Andrei V. Averyanov. The unit is allegedly responsible for destabilizing European countries and organized the Montenegrin coup attempt.[33]

On 27 November 2019, the OPCW global chemical weapons watchdog added Novichok, the Soviet-era nerve agent used in the attack, to its list of banned toxins.[34]

Chronology of events

• At 14:40 GMT on 3 March 2018, Yulia Skripal flew to Heathrow Airport from Russia.
• At 09:15 on 4 March Sergei Skripal's burgundy 2009 BMW 320d was seen in the area of London Road, Churchill Way North and Wilton Road at Salisbury.
• At 13:30 Skripal's car was seen on Devizes Road on the way towards the town centre.
• At 13:40 the Skripals arrived in the upper level car park at the Maltings, Salisbury and then went to the Bishops Mill Pub in the town centre.
• At 14:20 they dined at Zizzi on Castle Street.
• At 15:35 they left the Zizzi restaurant.[35]
• At 16:15 an emergency services call reported that Sergei Skripal, a 66-year-old resident of Salisbury, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia had been found unconscious on a public bench in the centre of Salisbury by a passing Chief Nursing Officer for the British Army and her daughter.[lower-alpha 2][38][39][40] An eyewitness saw Yulia foaming at the mouth with her eyes wide open but completely white.[41] According to a later British government statement they were "slipping in and out of consciousness on a public bench".[42]
• At 17:10, they were taken separately to Salisbury District Hospital by an ambulance and an air ambulance.[43]

At 09:03 the following morning, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust declared a major incident in response to concerns raised by medical staff; shortly afterwards this became a multi-agency incident named Operation Fairline.[44][45]

Health authorities checked 21 members of the emergency services and the public for possible symptoms;[46][47] two police officers were treated for minor symptoms, said to be itchy eyes and wheezing, while one, Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who had been sent to Skripal's house, had been in a serious condition.[48][49]

On 22 March 2018, Bailey was discharged from the hospital. In a statement he said "normal life for me will probably never be the same" and also thanked the hospital staff.[12] As of 26 March 2018, Skripal and his daughter remained critically ill.[50][51] On 29 March 2018 it was announced that Yulia's condition was improving and she was no longer in a critical condition.[52] On 5 April 2018 doctors said that Sergei was no longer in critical condition and was responding well to treatment.[53] On 9 April 2018, Yulia was discharged from hospital and taken to a secure location.[54][55] On 18 May 2018, Sergei Skripal was discharged from the hospital too.[56] On 23 May 2018, a handwritten letter and a video statement by Yulia were released to the Reuters news agency for the first time after the poisoning. She stated that she was lucky to be alive after the poisoning and thanked the staff of the Salisbury hospital. She described her treatment as slow, heavy and extremely painful and she had a scar on her neck, apparently from a tracheotomy. She expressed her hope that someday she would return to Russia. She thanked the Russian embassy for its offer of assistance but said she and her father were "not ready to take it".[57]

On 5 April 2018, British authorities said that inside Skripal's house, which had been sealed by the police, two guinea pigs were found dead by vets, when they were allowed in, along with a cat in a distressed state, which had to be put down.[58]

On 22 November the first interview with DS Bailey was released in which he reported that he had been poisoned, despite the fact that he inspected the Skripals' house using a forensic suit. In addition to the poisoning, Bailey and his family had lost their home and all their possessions, because of contamination. Investigators said that the perfume bottle containing Novichok, which was later found in a bin, had contained enough of the nerve agent to potentially kill thousands of people.[59]

In early 2019 building contractors built a scaffolding "sealed frame" over the house and the garage of Skripal's home. A military team then dismantled and removed the roofs on both buildings over the course of two weeks. Cleaning and decontamination was followed by rebuilding over a period of four months. [60][61] On 22 February 2019, Government officials announced that the last of the 12 sites that had been undergoing an intense and hazardous clean-up – Skripal’s house – had been judged safe.[62]

In May 2019, Sergei Skripal made a phone call and left a voice message to his niece Viktoria living in Russia. This was the first time after the poisoning that his voice had been heard by the public. [63]

In August 2019 it was confirmed that a second police officer had been poisoned when investigating, but only in trace amounts.[64]

Investigation

The first public response to the poisoning came on 6 March. It was agreed under the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network that the Counter Terrorism Command based within the Metropolitan Police would take over the investigation from Wiltshire Police. Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing, appealed for witnesses to the incident following a COBR meeting chaired by Home Secretary Amber Rudd.[65]

Samples of the nerve agent used in the attack tested positive at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down for a "very rare" nerve agent, according to the UK Home Secretary.[66]

180 military experts in chemical warfare defence and decontamination, as well as 18 vehicles, were deployed on 9 March to assist the Metropolitan Police to remove vehicles and objects from the scene and look for any further traces of the nerve agent. The personnel were drawn mostly from the Army, including instructors from the Defence CBRN Centre and the 29 Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Search Group, as well as from the Royal Marines and Royal Air Force. The vehicles included TPz Fuchs operated by Falcon Squadron from the Royal Tank Regiment.[67] On 11 March, the UK government advised those present at either The Mill pub or the Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury on 4 and 5 March to wash or wipe their possessions, emphasising that the risk to the general public was low.[68][69]

Several days later, on 12 March, Prime Minister Theresa May said the agent had been identified as one of the Novichok family of agents, believed to have been developed in the 1980s by the Soviet Union.[70][71] According to the Russian ambassador to the UK, Alexander Yakovenko, the British authorities identified the agent as A-234,[72] derived from an earlier version known as A-232.[73]

By 14 March, the investigation was focused on Skripal's home and car, a bench where the two fell unconscious, a restaurant in which they dined and a pub where they had drinks.[74] A recovery vehicle was removed by the military from Gillingham in Dorset on 14 March, in connection with the poisoning.[75][76]

Subsequently, there was speculation within the British media that the nerve agent had been planted in one of the personal items in Yulia Skripal's suitcase before she left Moscow for London,[77] and in US media that it had been planted in their car.[78][79]

Ahmet Üzümcü, Director-General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said on 20 March that it will take "another two to three weeks to finalise the analysis" of samples taken from the poisoning of Skripal.[80] On 22 March, the Court of Protection gave permission for new blood samples to be obtained from Yulia and Sergei Skripal for use by the OPCW.[81][82] By 28 March, the police investigation concluded that the Skripals were poisoned at Sergei's home, with the highest concentration being found on the handle of his front door.[83] On 12 April the OPCW confirmed the UK's analysis of the type of nerve agent and reported it was of a "high purity", stating that the "name and structure of the identified toxic chemical are contained in the full classified report of the Secretariat, available to States Parties."[84][85][86]

A declassified letter from the UK's national security adviser, Sir Mark Sedwill, to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, stated Russian military intelligence hacked Yulia Skripal's email account since at least 2013 and tested methods for delivering nerve agents including on door handles.[87]

The Department for Environment confirmed the nerve agent was delivered "in a liquid form". They said eight sites require decontamination, which will take several months to complete and cost millions of pounds. The BBC reported experts said the nerve agent does not evaporate or disappear over time. Intense cleaning with caustic chemicals is required to get rid of it.[88][89] The Skripals' survival was possibly due to the weather – there had been heavy fog and high humidity, and according to its inventor and other scientists, moisture weakens the potency of this type of toxin.[90][91][92]

On 22 April 2018, it was reported that British counter-terror police had identified a suspect in the poisoning: a former FSB officer (reportedly a 54-year-old former FSB captain) who acted under several code names including "Gordon" and "Mihails Savickis". According to detectives, he led a team of six Russian assassins who organized the chemical weapons attack.[93] Sedwill reported on 1 May 2018 however that UK intelligence and police agencies had failed to identify the individual or individuals who carried out the attack.[94]

On 3 May 2018, the head of the OPCW, Ahmet Üzümcü, informed the New York Times that he had been told that about 50–100 g of the nerve agent was thought to have been used in the attack, which indicated it was likely created for use as a weapon and was enough to kill a large number of people.[95] The next day however the OPCW made a correcting statement that the "quantity should probably be characterised in milligrams", though "the OPCW would not be able to estimate or determine the amount of the nerve agent that was used".[96][97]

On 19 July the Press Association reported that police believed they had identified "several Russians" as the suspected perpetrators of the attack. They had been identified through CCTV, cross-checked with border entry data.[98]

On 6 August 2018, it was reported that the British government was "poised to submit an extradition request to Moscow for two Russians suspected of carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent attack". The Metropolitan Police used two super recognisers to identify the suspects after trawling through up to 5,000 hours of CCTV footage from Salisbury and numerous airports across the country.[99][100]

Suspects and attack timeline

On 5 September 2018, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced charges in absentia against two alleged Russian agents. The two Russian nationals were believed to have been travelling under aliases, although they had genuine Russian passports with the identities of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov when applying for visas and entering the UK. The CPS said there was enough evidence to charge the men, but it was not applying to Russia for the extradition of the two suspects. Interpol Red Notices and domestic and European Arrest Warrants were issued in case the suspects travel to the EU.[2] As part of the announcement Scotland Yard and the Counter Terrorism Command released a detailed track of the individuals' 48 hours in the UK.[101] This covered their arrival from Moscow at Gatwick Airport, a trip to Salisbury by train the day before the attack, stated by police to be for reconnaissance, a trip to Salisbury by train on the day of the attack, and return to Moscow via Heathrow Airport.[102][26] The two spent both nights at the City Stay Hotel, next to Bow Church DLR station in Bow, East London. Novichok was found in their hotel room after police sealed it off on 4 May 2018. Neil Basu, National Lead for Counter Terrorism Policing said that tests were carried out on their hotel room and it was "deemed safe".[103][104]

British Prime Minister Theresa May announced in the Commons the same day that British intelligence services had identified the two suspects as officers in the G. U. Intelligence Service (formerly known as GRU) and the assassination attempt was not a rogue operation and was "almost certainly" approved at a senior level of the Russian government.[2][105] May also said Britain would push for the EU to agree new sanctions against Russia.

On 5 September 2018, the Russian news site Fontanka reported that the numbers on leaked passport files for Petrov and Boshirov are only three digits apart, and fall in a range that includes the passport files for a Russian military official expelled from Poland for spying.[106][107] It is not known how the passport files were obtained, but Andrew Roth, the Moscow correspondent for The Guardian, commented that "If the reporting is confirmed, it would be a major blunder by the intelligence agency, allowing any country to check passport data for Russians requesting visas or entering the country against a list of nearly 40 passport files of suspected GRU officers."[108] On 14 September 2018, the online platform Bellingcat and the Russian publication The Insider noted that in Petrov's leaked passport files, there is no record of a residential address or any identification papers prior to 2009, suggesting that the name is an alias created that year; the analysis also noted that Petrov's dossier is stamped "Do not provide any information" and has the handwritten annotation "S.S.," a common abbreviation in Russian for "top secret."[109] On 15 September 2018, the Russian opposition newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported finding in Petrov's passport files a cryptic number that seems to be a telephone number associated with the Russian Defence Ministry, most likely the Military Intelligence Directorate.[110]

On 26 September 2018, the real identity of the suspect named by police as Ruslan Boshirov was revealed as Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga by The Daily Telegraph, citing reporting by itself and Bellingcat, with Petrov having a more junior rank in the GRU.[111] The 39-year-old was made a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of the President in 2014. Two European security sources confirmed that the details were accurate.[112][113] The BBC commented: "The BBC understands there is no dispute over the identification."[114] The British defence minister Gavin Williamson wrote: "The true identity of one of the Salisbury suspects has been revealed to be a Russian Colonel. I want to thank all the people who are working so tirelessly on this case."[115] However, that statement was subsequently deleted from Twitter.[116]

On 8 October 2018, the real identity of the suspect named by police as Alexander Petrov was revealed as Alexander Mishkin.[1][117][118][119]

On 22 November 2018, more CCTV footage, with the two suspects walking in Salisbury, was published by the police.[120]

On 19 December 2018, Mishkin (a.k.a. Petrov) and Chepiga (a.k.a. Boshirov) were added to the sanctions list of USA Treasury Department along with other 13 members of the GRU agency.[121][122][123]

On 6 January 2019, the Telegraph reported that the British authorities had established all the essential details of the assassination attempt, including the chain of command that leads up to Vladimir Putin.[124]

Response of the United Kingdom

Within days of the attack, political pressure began to mount on Theresa May's government to take action against the perpetrators, and most senior politicians appeared to believe that the Russian government was behind the attack.[125][126] The situation was additionally sensitive for Russia as Russian president Vladimir Putin was facing his fourth presidential election in mid-March, and Russia was to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup football competition in June.[126][127] When giving a response to an urgent question from Tom Tugendhat, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee of the House of Commons, who suggested that Moscow was conducting "a form of soft war against the West", Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on 6 March said the government would "respond appropriately and robustly" if the Russian state was found to have been involved in the poisoning.[128][129] UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said on 8 March 2018 that the use of a nerve agent on UK soil was a "brazen and reckless act" of attempted murder "in the most cruel and public way".[130]

Prime Minister Theresa May said in the House of Commons on 12 March:

It is now clear that Mr Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed by Russia. This is part of a group of nerve agents known as 'Novichok'. Based on the positive identification of this chemical agent by world-leading experts at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down; our knowledge that Russia has previously produced this agent and would still be capable of doing so; Russia's record of conducting state-sponsored assassinations; and our assessment that Russia views some defectors as legitimate targets for assassinations; the Government has concluded that it is highly likely that Russia was responsible for the act against Sergei and Yulia Skripal. Mr Speaker, there are therefore only two plausible explanations for what happened in Salisbury on 4 March. Either this was a direct act by the Russian State against our country. Or the Russian government lost control of this potentially catastrophically damaging nerve agent and allowed it to get into the hands of others.[70]

May also said that the UK government requested that Russia explain which of these two possibilities it was by the end of 13 March 2018.[70] She also said: "[T]he extra-judicial killing of terrorists and dissidents outside Russia were given legal sanction by the Russian Parliament in 2006. And of course Russia used radiological substances in its barbaric assault on Mr Litvinenko."  She said that the UK government would "consider in detail the response from the Russian State" and in the event that there was no credible response, the government would "conclude that this action amounts to an unlawful use of force by the Russian State against the United Kingdom" and measures would follow.[70] British media billed the statement as "Theresa May's ultimatum to Putin."[4][131]

On 13 March 2018, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd ordered an inquiry by the police and security services into alleged Russian state involvement in 14 previous suspicious deaths of Russian exiles and businessmen in the UK.[132]

May unveiled a series of measures on 14 March 2018 in retaliation for the poisoning attack, after the Russian government refused to meet the UK's request for an account of the incident. One of the chief measures was the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats which she presented as "actions to dismantle the Russian espionage network in the UK", as these diplomats had been identified by the UK as "undeclared intelligence agents".[133][134] The BBC reported other responses, including:[135][136]

• Increasing checks on private flights, customs and freight
• Freezing Russian state assets where there is evidence that they may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents
• Plans to consider new laws to increase defences against "hostile state activity"
• Ministers and the British royal family boycotting the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
• Suspending all high-level bilateral contacts between the UK and Russia
• Retraction of the state invitation to Russian's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov[13]
• A new £48-million chemical weapons defence centre[137]
• Offering voluntary vaccinations against anthrax to British troops who are held at high readiness so that they are ready to deploy to areas where there is risk of this type of attack[138]

May said that some measures which the government planned could "not be shared publicly for reasons of national security".[133] Jeremy Corbyn cast doubt in his parliamentary response to May's statement concerning blaming the attack on Russia prior to the results of an independent investigation, which provoked criticism from some MPs, including members of his own party.[139][140] A few days later, Corbyn was satisfied that the evidence pointed to Russia.[141] He supported the expulsion but argued that a crackdown on money laundering by UK financial firms on behalf of Russian oligarchs would be a more effective measure against "the Putin regime" than the Tory government's plans.[142] Corbyn pointed to the pre-Iraq War judgements about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction as reason to be suspicious.[143]

The United Nations Security Council called an urgent meeting on 14 March 2018 on the initiative of the UK to discuss the Salisbury incident.[144][42] According to the Russian mission's press secretary, the draft press statement introduced by Russia at the United Nations Security Council meeting was blocked by the UK.[145] The UK and the US blamed Russia for the incident during the meeting, with the UK accusing Russia of breaking its obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.[146] Separately, the White House fully supported the UK in attributing the attack to Russia, as well as the punitive measures taken against Russia. The White House also accused Russia of undermining the security of countries worldwide.[147][148]

The UK, and subsequently NATO, requested Russia provide "full and complete disclosure" of the Novichok programme to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.[149][150][151] On 14 March 2018, the government stated it would supply a sample of the substance used to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons once UK legal obligations from the criminal investigation permitted.[152]

Boris Johnson said on 16 March that it was "overwhelmingly likely" that the poisoning had been ordered directly by Russian president Vladimir Putin, which marked the first time the British government accused Putin of personally ordering the poisoning.[153] According to the UK Foreign Office, the UK attributed the attack to Russia based on Porton Down's determination that the chemical was Novichok, additional intelligence, and a lack of alternative explanations from Russia.[154] The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory announced that it was "completely confident" that the agent used was Novichok, but they still did not know the "precise source" of the agent.[155][156]

The UK had held an intelligence briefing with its allies in which it stated that the Novichok chemical used in the Salisbury poisoning was produced at a chemical facility in the town of Shikhany, Saratov Oblast, Russia.[157]

Response of Russia

Russian government

On 6 March 2018 Andrey Lugovoy, deputy of Russia's State Duma (the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) and alleged killer of Alexander Litvinenko, in his interview with the Echo of Moscow said: "Something constantly happens to Russian citizens who either run away from Russian justice, or for some reason choose for themselves a way of life they call a change of their Motherland. So the more Britain accepts on its territory every good-for-nothing, every scum from all over the world, the more problems they will have."[158][159]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on 9 March rejected Britain's claim of Russia's involvement in Skripal's poisoning and accused the United Kingdom of spreading "propaganda".[160][161] Lavrov said that Russia was "ready to cooperate" and demanded access to the samples of the nerve-agent which was used to poison Skripal. The request was rejected by the British government.[162]

Following Theresa May's 12 March statement in Parliament – in which she gave President Putin's administration until midnight of the following day to explain how a former spy was poisoned in Salisbury, otherwise she would conclude it was an "unlawful use of force" by the Russian state against the UK[163] – Lavrov, talking to the Russian press on 13 March, referred to the statement as "an ultimatum from London" and endorsed remarks made by the ministry's spokesperson the day prior, who called May's statement "a circus show in the British parliament";[164][165][166] he added that the procedure stipulated by the Chemical Weapons Convention should be followed whereunder Russia was entitled to have access to the substance in question and 10 days to respond.[164][167][168] He called allegations about Russia's complicity "balderdash".[169] The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, speaking on a Russian state television channel on the evening of 13 March, said that no one had the right to present Russia with 24-hour ultimatums.[170][171][172]

On 17 March, Russia announced that it was expelling 23 British diplomats and ordered the closure of the UK's consulate in St Petersburg and the British Council office in Moscow, stopping all British Council activities in Russia.[173]

The poisoning has been officially declared to be a fabrication and a "grotesque provocation rudely staged by the British and U.S. intelligence agencies" to undermine Russia.[174][175]

The Russian government and embassy of Russia in the United Kingdom repeatedly requested access to the Skripals, and sought to offer consular assistance. These requests and offers were denied or declined.[176][177][178][179][180]

In September, Russia described the Skripals' situation as "de-facto deprivation of liberty", claiming that several diplomatic and human rights conventions were violated.[176] On 5 September the Russian government rejected the accusations "against Russia and two allegedly Russian citizens."[181]

On 5 September 2018 Putin's Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, stated that May's accusations from that day were "unacceptable". Peskov asserted Russia had not received any official request from Britain for assistance in identifying the two suspected Russian GRU military intelligence officers that Scotland Yard believes carried out the Skripal attack. The same day, the Foreign Ministry of Russia asserted that UK ambassador in Moscow, Laurie Bristow, had said that London would not provide Russia with the suspects' fingerprints, passport numbers, visa numbers, or any extra data.[182]

On 12 September 2018, Putin, while answering questions at the plenary meeting of the 4th Eastern Economic Forum in Russia's Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok said that the identities of both men London suspected of involvement in the Skripal case were known to the Russian authorities and that both were civilians, who had done nothing criminal. He also said he would like the men to come forward to tell their story.[183][184][185] In a 13 September 2018 interview on the state-funded television channel RT, the accused claimed to be sports nutritionists who had gone to Salisbury merely to see the sights and scout for nutrition products, saying that they took a second day-trip to Salisbury because slush had dampened their first one.[186]

On 14 September, Lavrov stated: "Our proposal of putting into operation existing mechanisms between London and Moscow on the legal assistance in criminal cases is still in force. Since there is no response to our proposal, we have all grounds to believe that there had been no crime, which these ladies and gentlemen are trying to attribute to our citizens."[187] On 26 September, the same day one of the suspects was identified as the Colonel of GRU, Lavrov once again urged the British authorities to cooperate in the investigation of the case, said Britain had given no proof of Russia's guilt and suggested that Britain had something to hide.[188][189]

On 25 September, the Russian FSB began searching for Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) officers who had provided journalists with foreign passport and flight information about the suspects.[190]

Russian state media

For a few days following the poisoning, the story was discussed by web sites, radio stations and newspapers, but Russian state-run main national TV channels largely ignored the incident.[191][192]

Eventually, on 7 March, anchor Kirill Kleimyonov of the state television station Channel One Russia's current affairs programme Vremya mentioned the incident by attributing the allegation to foreign secretary Boris Johnson.[193] After speaking of Johnson disparagingly, Kleimyonov said that being "a traitor to the motherland" was one of the most hazardous professions and warned: "Don't choose England as a next country to live in. Whatever the reasons, whether you're a professional traitor to the motherland or you just hate your country in your spare time, I repeat, no matter, don't move to England. Something is not right there. Maybe it's the climate, but in recent years there have been too many strange incidents with a grave outcome. People get hanged, poisoned, they die in helicopter crashes and fall out of windows in industrial quantities."[193][194][195][191][196] Kleimyonov's commentary was accompanied by a report highlighting previous suspicious Russia-related deaths in the UK, namely those of financier Alexander Perepilichny, businessman Boris Berezovsky, ex-FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko and radiation expert Matthew Puncher.[193] Puncher discovered that Litvinenko was poisoned by polonium; he died in 2006, five months after a trip to Russia.[197]

The host of the Vesti Nedeli on Russian state television (Russia-1 channel of VGTRK), Dmitry Kiselyov, said on 11 March that the poisoning of Sergei Skripal, who was "completely wrung out and of little interest" as a source, was only advantageous to the British to "nourish their Russophobia" and organise the boycott of the FIFA World Cup scheduled for June 2018. Kiselyov referred to London as a "pernicious place for Russian exiles".[198][199][200][201]

The prominent Russian television hosts' warnings to Russians living in the UK were echoed by a similar direct warning from a senior member of the Russian Federation Council, Andrey Klimov, who said: "It's going to be very unsafe for you."[168]

Claims made by Russian media were fact-checked by UK media organisations.[202][203]

An interview with two men claiming to be the suspects named by the UK was aired on RT on 13 September 2018 with RT editor Margarita Simonyan.[204] They said they were ordinary tourists who had wished to see Stonehenge, Old Sarum, and the "famous ... 123-metre spire" of Salisbury Cathedral. They also said that they "maybe approached Skripal's house, but we didn't know where it was located," and denied using Novichok, which they had allegedly transported in a fake perfume bottle, saying, "Is it silly for decent lads to have women's perfume? The customs are checking everything, they would have questions as to why men have women's perfume in their luggage."[205] Although Simonyan avoided most questions about the two men's backgrounds, she hinted that they might be gay by asking, "All footage features you two together ... What do you have in common that you spend so much time together?"[205] The New York Times interpreted the hint by noting that "The possibility that Mr. Petrov and Mr. Boshirov could be gay would, for a Russian audience, immediately rule out the possibility that they serve as military intelligence officers."[186]

Chemical weapons experts and intelligence

Porton Down

On 3 April 2018 Gary Aitkenhead, the chief executive of the Government's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) at Porton Down responsible for testing the substance involved in the case, said they had established the agent was Novichok or from that family but had been unable to verify the "precise source" of the nerve agent and that they had "provided the scientific info to Government who have then used a number of other sources to piece together the conclusions you have come to."[206][207] Aitkenhead refused to comment on whether the laboratory had developed or maintains stocks of Novichok.[207] He also dismissed speculations the substance could have come from Porton Down: "There is no way anything like that could have come from us or left the four walls of our facility."[207] Aitkenhead stated the creation of the nerve agent was "probably only within the capabilities of a state actor" and there was no known antidote.[206][156]

Former Russian scientists and intelligence officers

Vil Mirzayanov, a former Soviet Union scientist who worked at the research institute that developed the Novichok class of nerve agents and lives in the United States, believes that hundreds of people could have been affected by residual contamination in Salisbury. He said that Sergei and Yulia Skripal, if poisoned with a Novichok, would be left with debilitating health issues for the rest of their lives. He also criticised the response of Public Health England, saying that washing personal belongings was insufficient to remove traces of the chemical.[208][209]

Two other Russian scientists who now live in Russia and have been involved in Soviet-era chemical weapons development, Vladimir Uglev and Leonid Rink, were quoted as saying that Novichok agents had been developed in the 1970s–1980s within the programme that was officially titled FOLIANT and the term Novichok referred to a whole system of chemical weapons use; they, as well as Mirzayanov, who published Novichok's formula in 2008, also noted that Novichok-type agents might be synthesised in other countries.[210][211][212][213] In 1995, Leonid Rink received a one-year suspended sentence for selling Novichok agents to unnamed buyers, soon after the fatal poisoning of Russian banker Ivan Kivilidi by Novichok.[214][215][216][217]

A former KGB and FSB officer, Boris Karpichkov, who operated in Latvia in the 1990s and fled to the UK in 1998,[218] told ITV's Good Morning Britain that on 12 February 2018, three weeks before the Salisbury attack and exactly on his birthday, he received a message over the burner phone from "a very reliable source" in the FSB telling Karpichkov that "something bad [wa]s going to happen with [him] and seven other people, including Mr. Skripal", whom he then knew nothing about.[219] Karpichkov said he disregarded the message at the time, thinking it was not serious, as he had previously received such messages.[219] According to Karpichkov, the FSB's list includes the names of Oleg Gordievsky and William Browder.[218][220]

Spiez Laboratory in Switzerland

The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service asserted on 14 September 2018 that two Russian spies had been caught in the Netherlands and expelled, earlier in the year, for attempting to hack into the Spiez Laboratory in the Swiss town of Spiez, a designated lab of the OPCW that had been tasked with confirming that the samples of poison collected in Salisbury were Novichok. The spies were discovered through a joint investigation by the Swiss, Dutch, and British intelligence services. The two men expelled were not the same as the Salisbury suspects.[221][222]

Response from other countries and organisations

US government

Following Theresa May's statement in Parliament, the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a statement on 12 March that fully supported the stance of the UK government on the poisoning attack, including "its assessment that Russia was likely responsible for the nerve agent attack that took place in Salisbury".[223] The following day, US President Donald Trump said that Russia was likely responsible.[224]

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley at the Security Council briefing on 14 March 2018 stated: "The United States believes that Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the United Kingdom using a military-grade nerve agent".[225]

Following the United States National Security Council's recommendation,[226] President Trump, on 26 March, ordered the expulsion of sixty Russian diplomats (referred to by the White House as "Russian intelligence officers"[227]) and the closure of the Russian consulate in Seattle.[228][229] The action was cast as being "in response to Russia's use of a military-grade chemical weapon on the soil of the United Kingdom, the latest in its ongoing pattern of destabilising activities around the world."[227]

On 8 August,[230] five months after the poisoning,[231] the US government agreed to place sanctions on Russian banks and exports.[232][233][234][231] On 6 August,[230] the US State Department concluded that Russia was behind the poisoning.[230] The sanctions, which are enforced under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act),[230] were planned to come into effect on 27 August.[235] However, these sanctions were not implemented by the Trump administration.[236]

European Union and member states

European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans argued for "unequivocal, unwavering and very strong" European solidarity with the United Kingdom when speaking to lawmakers in Strasburg on 13 March.[237] Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, expressed shock and offered the bloc's support.[238] MEP and leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt proclaimed solidarity with the British people.[239]

During a meeting in the Foreign Affairs Council on 19 March, all foreign ministers of the European Union declared in a joint statement that the "European Union expresses its unqualified solidarity with the UK and its support, including for the UK's efforts to bring those responsible for this crime to justice." In addition, the statement also pointed out that "The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK Government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible."[240]

Norbert Röttgen, a former federal minister in Angela Merkel's government and current chairman of Germany's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, said the incident demonstrated the need for Britain to review its open-door policy towards Russian capital of dubious origin.[241]

Sixteen EU countries expelled 33 Russian diplomats on 26 March.[242][243]

The European Union officially sanctioned 4 Russians that were suspected of carrying out the attack on 21 January 2019. The head of the GRU Igor Kostyukov and the deputy head Vladimir Alexseyev were both sanctioned along with Mishkin and Chepiga. The sanctions banned them from traveling to the EU and froze any assets they may have there along with banning any person or company in the EU providing any financial support to those sanctioned.[244]

Other non-EU countries

Albania, Australia, Canada, Georgia, North Macedonia, Moldova, Norway and Ukraine expelled a total of 27 Russian diplomats who were believed to have been intelligence officers.[245] The New Zealand Government also issued a statement supporting the actions, noting that it would have expelled any Russian intelligence agents who had been detected in the country.[246]

NATO

NATO issued an official response to the attack on 14 March. The alliance expressed its deep concern over the first offensive use of a nerve agent on its territory since its foundation and said that the attack was in breach of international treaties. It called on Russia to fully disclose its research of the Novichok agent to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.[247]

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, announced on 27 March that NATO would be expelling seven Russian diplomats from the Russian mission to NATO in Brussels. In addition, 3 unfilled positions at the mission have been denied accreditation from NATO. Russia blamed the US for the NATO response.[248]

Joint responses

The leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom released a joint statement on 15 March which supported the UK's stance on the incident, stating that it was "highly likely that Russia was responsible" and calling on Russia to provide complete disclosure to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons concerning its Novichok nerve agent program.[249][250] On 19 March, the European Union also issued a statement strongly condemning the attack and stating it "takes extremely seriously the UK Government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible".[240]

On 6 September 2018, Canada, France, Germany and the United States issued a joint statement saying they had "full confidence" that the Salisbury attack was orchestrated by Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate and "almost certainly approved at a senior government level" and urged Russia to provide full disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW.[251]

Expulsion of diplomats

Expelled Russian diplomats

By the end of March 2018 a number of countries and other organisations expelled a total of more than 150 Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity with the UK. According to the BBC it was "the largest collective expulsion of Russian intelligence officers in history".[252][248][253]

The UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats on 14 March 2018. Three days later, Russia expelled an equal number of British diplomats and ordered closure of the UK consulate in St. Petersburg and closure of the British Council in Russia.[173] Nine countries expelled Russian diplomats on 26 March: along with 6 other EU nations, the US, Canada, Ukraine and Albania. The following day, several nations inside and outside of the EU, and NATO responded similarly. By 30 March, Russia expelled an equal number of diplomats of most nations who had expelled Russian diplomats. By that time, Belgium, Montenegro, Hungary and Georgia had also expelled one or more Russian diplomats. Additionally on 30 March, Russia reduced the size of the total UK mission's personnel in Russia to match that of the Russian mission to the UK.

Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and the European Union itself have not expelled any Russian diplomats but have recalled their ambassadors from Russia for consultations.[254][255][256][257][258][259] Furthermore, Iceland decided to diplomatically boycott the 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia.[260]

Country or organisation	Diplomats expelled	Date announced	Response by Russia	Date announced
Albania	2	26 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Australia	2	27 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Belgium	1	27 March	1 diplomat expelled (the economic attaché).[262]	4 April
Canada	4^[a][263]	26 March	4 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Croatia	1	26 March	1 diplomat based in Zagreb declared PNG.[264]	30 March
Czech Republic	3	26 March	3 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Denmark	2	26 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Estonia	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Finland	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
France	4	26 March	4 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Germany	4	26 March	4 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Georgia	1[265]	30 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[266]	13 April
Hungary	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[267]	4 April
Ireland	1	27 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Italy	2	26 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Latvia	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Lithuania	3	26 March	3 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Macedonia	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Moldova	3	27 March	3 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Montenegro	1[268]	28 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[269]	2 April
NATO	7^[b][248]	27 March
Netherlands	2	26 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Norway	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Poland	4	26 March	4 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Romania	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Spain	2	26 March	2 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Sweden	1	26 March	1 diplomat expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
Ukraine	13	26 March	13 diplomats expelled by Russia.[261]	30 March
United Kingdom	23	14 March	23 UK diplomats expelled by Russia. British consulate in St Petersburg closed. Russian office of the British Council closed.	17 March
			UK diplomatic mission to Russia reduced in size to match Russian mission to UK. Requires the UK to recall a further 27 officials.	30 March
United States	60,^[c] Russian consulates in San Francisco and Seattle closed.	26 March	60 US diplomats expelled by Russia. US consulate in St Petersburg closed.	30 March

Notes

• ^{^[a]} 4 diplomats expelled. 3 pending applications declined.
• ^{^[b]} 7 expelled and 3 pending applications declined. Maximum delegation reduced by 10 (from 30 to 20).
• ^{^[c]} 48 Russian diplomats expelled from Washington D.C. and 12 expelled from New York.

Aftermath

Some of the emergency vehicles used in the response to the poisoning have been buried in a landfill site near Cheltenham.[270]

On 13 September, Chris Busby, a retired research scientist, who is a regular expert on the Russian government controlled RT television network, was arrested after his home in Bideford was raided by police.[271][272] Busby was an outspoken critic of the British Government's handling of the Salisbury poisoning.[273] In one video he stated: "Just to make it perfectly clear, there's no way that there's any proof that the material that poisoned the Skripals came from Russia." Busby was held for 19 hours under the Explosive Substances Act 1883,[274] before being released with no further action.[275] Following his release, Busby told the BBC he believed that the fact that two of the officers who had raided his property had felt unwell was explained by "psychological problems associated with their knowledge of the Skripal poisoning".[276]

On 16 September, fears of Novichok contamination flared up again after two people fell ill at a Prezzo restaurant, 300 metres (980 ft) from the Zizzi location where the Skripals had eaten before collapsing. The restaurant, a nearby pub, and surrounding streets were cordoned off, with some patrons under observation or unable to leave the area.[277] The next day, the police said there was "nothing to suggest that Novichok" was the cause of the two people falling ill.[278] However, on 19 September, one of the apparent victims, Anna Shapiro, claimed in The Sun newspaper that the incident had been an attempted assassination against her and her husband by Russia.[279] This article was later removed from The Sun "for legal reasons"[279] and the police began to investigate the incident as a "possible hoax" after the couple were discharged from hospital.[280]

In April 2019, The New York Times reported that then deputy CIA director Gina Haspel advised Donald Trump in a discussion that young children had been hospitalised and ducks killed after exposure to the Novichok nerve agent that poisoned the Skripals. She showed him photos of these victims which the New York Times reported had been provided by British officials.[281] The incident was cited as an example of the "persuasive skills" of the then CIA director Gina Haspel. In response Tracy Daszkiewicz, the director of public health for Wiltshire, said: "There were no other casualties other than those previously stated. No wildlife were impacted by the incident and no children were exposed to or became ill as a result of either incident".[282][283]

Russian public opinion

The Moscow Times reported later in the year of the poisonings "The results of the survey published by the independent Levada Center pollster [in October 2018] say that 28 percent of Russians believe that British intelligence services were behind Skripals' poisoning, with only 3 percent saying they believe their own intelligence officers carried out the attack. Another 56 percent said that "it could have been anyone." Meanwhile, 37 percent of respondents said they knew about the case in detail and 33 percent said they had "heard something" about it, with another 20 percent saying they had heard nothing about the poisoning."[284]

Recovery money

As of 17 October 2018, a total of £7.5 million had been pledged by government in support of the city and to support businesses, boost tourism and to cover unexpected costs. Wiltshire Council had spent or pledged £7,338,974 on recovery, and a further half million "was in the pipeline":

• £733,381 towards unexpected closure and loss of footfall to businesses
• £404,024 in revenue grants for 74 businesses
• £99,891 in capital grants
• £229,446 in business rate relief for 56 businesses
• £210,491 on events to boost tourism
• £500,000 from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
• £4,000 on dry cleaning or disposal of clothes believed to be contaminated by Novichock
• £1 million towards keeping contaminated sites safe
• £570,000 recovery money to cover costs of free parking, and free park and ride services
• £4.1 million of the money pledged by the Home Office to cover Wiltshire Police's costs. A council commissioner said total policing cost had exceeded £10 million. Having £6.6 million allocated for funding the police force, he said he hoped to "recoup the full amount from central government".[285]

Recognition of responders

Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills and Superintendent Dave Minty of Wiltshire Police were each awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 2020 New Year Honours for their roles in responding to the incident.[286][287]

The combined Wiltshire Emergency Services received Wiltshire Life's 2019 "Pride of Wiltshire" award.[288]

Media depictions

The Salisbury Poisonings, a three-part dramatisation of the events with a focus on the response of local officials and the local community, was broadcast on BBC One in June 2020.[289]

See also

• Intelligence agencies of Russia
• Assassination of Kim Jong-nam by North Korea with VX nerve agent
• Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko putatively by Russian intelligence agents with Polonium-210
• Bulgarian umbrella used to assassinate Georgi Markov in London
• List of poisonings

Notes

1. Stephen Davies of Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust wrote an open letter to The Times, published on 16 March 2018, clarifying that contrary to reports, no members of the public were affected: "Sir, Further to your report ("Poison exposure leaves almost 40 needing treatment", 14 March), may I clarify that no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning. Several people have attended the emergency department concerned that they may have been exposed. None has had symptoms of poisoning and none has needed treatment. Any blood tests performed have shown no abnormality. No member of the public has been contaminated by the agent involved."[14]
2. The nurse was the Chief Nursing Officer for the Army and the commanding officer of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, Colonel Alison L McCourt OBE ARRC QHN; her teenage daughter later received an award for alerting her mother and assisting in first aid.[36][37]

References

1. Second Skripal Poisoning Suspect Identified as Dr. Alexander Mishkin. 2018. Bellingcat. 8 Oct. https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/10/08/second-skripal-poisoning-suspect-identified-as-dr-alexander-mishkin/. Retrieved: 9 October 2018.
2. "Salisbury Novichok poisoning: Two Russian nationals named as suspects". BBC News. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
3. "GRU colonel Chepiga revealed as Skripal suspect's 'real identity'". BBC News. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
4. Asthana, Anushka; Roth, Andrew; Harding, Luke; MacAskill, Ewen (12 March 2018). "May issues ultimatum to Moscow over Salisbury poisoning". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
5. Dodd, Vikram; Harding, Luke; MacAskill, Ewen (8 March 2018). "Sergei Skripal: former Russian spy poisoned with nerve agent, say police". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
6. "Salisbury attack: Chemical weapons watchdog confirms UK findings on nerve agent". Deutsche Welle. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
7. "Russian spy: Yulia Skripal 'conscious and talking'". BBC News. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018; "Russian spy poisoning: Yulia Skripal 'getting stronger daily'". BBC News. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018
8. "After 20 days in a coma". Reuters.com. Reuters. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
9. Smout, Alistair. "Poisoned Russian agent Sergei Skripal recovering rapidly, hospital ..."
10. "Ex-spy 'improving rapidly' after poisoning". 6 April 2018 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
11. Hudson, Rebecca. "Police officer in hospital after Russian Spy nerve agent attack named as award-winning Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey". Salisbury Journal. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
12. "Policeman discharged after ex-spy attack". BBC News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
13. "Russian spy: What we know so far". BBC News. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
14. Simpson, John; Haynes, Deboarh (16 March 2018). Hamilton, Fiona (ed.). "Russia: Salisbury poison fears allayed by doctor". Retrieved 29 March 2018.
15. "Russian jailed for spying for MI6". London Evening Standard. London. 9 August 2006. p. 4.
16. "The great spy swap: huge exchange of agents underway after 'deep cover' ring exposed". The Guardian. London. 9 July 2010. p. 3.
17. Janjevic, Darko (6 April 2018). "The curious case of Yulia Skripal's recorded phone call". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
18. Chughtai, Petkova. "Skripal case diplomatic expulsions in numbers". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
19. "Russia claims it could have been in interests of Britain to poison Sergei Skripal". The Independent. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
20. "Wiltshire pair poisoned by Novichok nerve agent". BBC News. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
21. "Two collapse near spy poisoning site". BBC News. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
22. Press Association (24 July 2018). "Novichok victim ill within 15 minutes, says partner Charlie Rowley". The Guardian.
23. https://www.itv.com/news/2018-07-26/novichok-charlie-rowley-amesbury-nerve-agent-exclusive/
24. Vikram Dodd, Steven Morris and Caroline Bannock (9 July 2018). "Novichok in Wiltshire death 'highly likely' from batch used on Skripals". The Guardian.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
25. Tobin, Olivia (5 September 2018). "Novichok poisoning probe: Police say there is 'no doubt' Novichok victims are linked and Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess were innocent tragic victims". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
26. Pérez-Peña, Richard; Barry, Ellen (5 September 2018). "U.K. Charges 2 Men in Novichok Poisoning, Saying They're Russian Agents". New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
27. "Report: Third Alleged Russian Agent Involved in Skripal Mission Identified". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
28. "Second Skripal Poisoning Suspect Identified as Dr. Alexander Mishkin". Bellingcat. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
29. "Full report: Skripal Poisoning Suspect Dr. Alexander Mishkin, Hero of Russia". Bellingcat. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
30. Bellingcat, 14 February 2019 Suspect in Scripal poisoning identified as Denis Sergeev
31. Bellingcat 21 February 2019 The search for Denis Sergeev
32. Urban, Mark (28 June 2019). "Skripal poisoning: Third man 'commanded attack'" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
33. Top Secret Russian Unit Seeks to Destabilize Europe, Security Officials Say, New York Times
34. "Novichok nerve agents banned by chemical-weapons treaty". 28 November 2019 – via www.nature.com.
35. "Ongoing investigation into incident in Salisbury on 4 March". Metropolitan Police. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
36. "Novichok poisoning victims first helped by teenage girl". The Guardian. Press Association. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
37. "Chief Nursing Officer – Colonel A L McCourt OBE ARRC QHN". The QARANC Association. 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
38. "Russian spy: What we know so far". BBC News. 8 March 2018.
39. "Alleged former Russian spy critically ill after exposure to unknown substance in Salisbury". The Daily Telegraph. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
40. Kingsley, Patrick; Pérez-Peña, Richard (6 March 2018). "In Poisoning of Sergei Skripal, Russian Ex-Spy, U.K. Sees Cold War Echoes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
41. "Russian spy: What we know so far". BBC. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
42. "Moscow 'Highly Likely' Behind Salisbury Chemical Attack, Prime Minister of United Kingdom Says in Letter to Security Council – Russian Federation Calls Statement Irresponsible, Threatening". United Nations. 14 March 2018. SC/13247. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
43. "How Salisbury case went from local drama to international incident". The Guardian. 10 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
44. Blanshard, Christine (12 June 2018). "Responding to Recent Events in Salisbury" (PDF). Thames Valley Strategic Clinical Network. Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. p. 5. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
45. "Critically ill man 'former Russian spy'". BBC News. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
46. "Up to 21 people treated after nerve agent attack on Russian spy Sergei Skripal". ITV News. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
47. Casciani, Dominic (9 March 2018). World at One. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 9 March 2018. There was some erroneous reporting that there were 21 other people being treated, that is not true, there has only been these three casualties and they are all still in hospital
48. Robert Mendick (9 March 2018). "Russian spy may have been poisoned at home, police believe, as military deployed to Salisbury". The Daily Telegraph.
49. "Russian spy 'attacked with nerve agent'". BBC News. 7 March 2018.
50. "More than 130 people could have been exposed to novichok, PM says". The Guardian. 26 March 2018.
51. "A poisoned Russian spy and his daughter may never recover their full mental functions, a British judge said". Newsweek. 23 March 2018.
52. "Ex-spy's daughter 'improving rapidly'". BBC News. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
53. "Russian spy poisoning: Sergei Skripal 'improving rapidly'". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
54. "Russian spy: Daughter discharged from hospital". BBC News. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
55. "No-one speaks for me – Yulia Skripal". BBC News. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
56. "Ex-spy Sergei Skripal discharged after poisoning". BBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
57. "Yulia Skripal – Attempted assassination turned my world upside down". Reuters. 23 May 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
58. "Sergei Skripal's cat and guinea pigs are dead, UK says". CNN. 6 April 2018.
59. Corbin, Jane (22 November 2018). "Skripal poisoning: Policeman's family 'lost everything' because of Novichok". BBC News. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
60. "Poisoned spy's house to be dismantled by military" 8 January 2019 Sky News
61. "Skripal Novichok poisoning attack house roof replaced" BBC 8 January 2019
62. "Salisbury ruled safe a year after Skripal poisoning as police make fresh appeal" Guardian 1st March 2019
63. Luhn, Alec (23 May 2019). "Sergei Skripal heard for the first time since poisoning in phone call, relatives say". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
64. "Salisbury Novichok attack poisoned second officer, Met confirms". BBC. 15 August 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
65. "'More known' about substance in spy case". BBC News. 7 March 2018.
66. Rob Merrick (8 March 2018). "Russian spy: Poisoned Sergei Skripal's wife and son were murdered, alleges Conservative MP". Independent. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
67. "Military deployed after spy poisoning". BBC News. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
68. "Public health advice for those who were in The Mill pub or Zizzi restaurant in Salisbury on Sunday 4th or Monday 5th March 2018" (PDF).
69. "Salisbury diners told to wash possessions". BBC News. 11 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
70. "PM Commons statement on Salisbury incident: 12 March 2018". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
71. "Russian spy: Highly likely Moscow behind attack, says Theresa May". BBC News. 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
72. "Russian spy: What are Novichok agents and what do they do?". BBC News. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
73. "Explainer: What is known, and not known, about poisoning of ex-spy in Britain". Reuters. 5 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
74. Morris, Steven (14 March 2018). "Police home in on five key locations in Skripal attempted murder case". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
75. "Police cordon off road in Gillingham following poisoning in Salisbury". ITV News. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
76. Trim, Liam (14 March 2018). "Local reveals van in new spy poison cordon area has been there for days". somersetlive. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
77. Mendick, Robert; Sawer, Patrick; Ward, Victoria (15 March 2018). "Suitcase spy poisoning plot: nerve agent 'was planted in luggage of Sergei Skripal's daughter'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
78. Association, Press (18 March 2018). "Sergei Skripal possibly poisoned through car's air vents, say US media". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
79. "Russian ex-spy's poisoning in UK believed from nerve agent in car vents: Sources". ABC News. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
80. "Two to three weeks to analyze samples from Salisbury attack: OPCW". Agence France-Presse. 20 March 2018.
81. Justice Williams, High Court Judgement, Royal Courts of Justice, 22 March 2018. judiciary.gov.uk.
82. Morris, Steven (22 March 2018). "Judge gives permission for blood samples to be taken from the Skripals". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
83. "Spy poisoning: Highest amount of nerve agent was on door". BBC News. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
84. "Inspectors back UK in spy poisoning row". BBC News. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.; "Watchdog confirms UK findings on nerve agent used on Russian ex-spy". AFP. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
85. "OPCW Issues Report on Technical Assistance Requested by the United Kingdom". OPCW. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
86. "Summary of the Report on Activities Carried Out in Support of a Request for Technical Assistance by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Technical Assistance Visit TAV/02/18)" (PDF). OPCW. 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
87. Rayner, Gordon; Maidment, Jack (13 April 2018). "Russia hacked Yulia Skripal's emails for five years and tested Novichok on door handles, bombshell intelligence dossier reveals". The Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
88. "Skripal nerve agent 'was in liquid form'". BBC News. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
89. "Salisbury toxic hotspots clean-up begins". BBC News. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
90. "В условиях влажности применять это вещество мог только идиот". Kommersant. 4 December 2018.
91. Andrew Griffin (12 March 2018). "What is Novichok? The powerful nerve agent that makes it 'highly likely' Russia poisoned former spy". The Independent. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
92. "expert reaction to nerve agent being substance identified in case of Russian ex-spy and his daughter". Science Media Centre. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
93. "British media: Skripal was poisoned by former FSB officer "Gordon"". svoboda.org (in Russian).
94. MacAskill, Ewan (1 May 2018). "No suspects yet in Skripal nerve agent attack, MPs told". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
95. Slawson, Nicola (3 May 2018). "Skripals poisoned by novichok dose of up to 100g, watchdog says". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 May 2018.
96. Wintour, Patrick (4 May 2018). "Chemical weapons watchdog amends claim over Salisbury novichok". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
97. "OPCW Spokesperson's Statement on Amount of Nerve Agent Used in Salisbury". OPCW. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
98. "Salisbury poisoning: Police 'identify Novichok suspects'". BBC. 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
99. Hopkins, Nick; Harding, Luke; MacAskill, Ewen (6 August 2018). "UK poised to ask Russia to extradite Salisbury attack suspects". The Guardian.
100. "Super recogniser squad tracks Skripal novichok attackers". Sky News. 28 August 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
101. "Counter-terrorism police release images of two suspects in connection with Salisbury attack". Metropolitan Police. 5 September 2018. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
102. "Novichok suspects – the 48-hour mission to kill caught on camera". BT News. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
103. "Salisbury Novichok poisoning: Russian 'hit men' charged over nerve agent attack". The Evening Standard. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
104. "Guests of two-star London hotel where Salisbury suspects stayed discover Novichok was found in bedroom". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
105. "Russia's GRU: The murky spy agency behind the Salisbury poisoning, a failed coup and US election hack". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
106. Ермаков, Александр (5 September 2018). "Что "Фонтанке" известно о подозреваемых в отравлении Скрипалей" [What "Fontanka" know about the suspected poisoning of the Skripals]. Fontanka.ru. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
107. Ермаков, Александр (22 September 2018). "Руссо туристо. Почему кто-то мог принять Петрова и Боширова за разведчиков". Fontanka.ru. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
108. Roth, Andrew (23 September 2018). "Russian passport leak after Salisbury may reveal spy methods". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
109. "Skripal Poisoning Suspect's Passport Data Shows Link to Security Services". Bellingcat. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
110. Higgins, Andrew (18 September 2018). "Tragedy? Farce? Confusion? The Method Behind That Russian Poisoning Interview". New York Times. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
111. Newsnight, BBC2, 26 September 2018
112. "Salisbury poisoning suspect named as a Russian colonel by UK media". Reuters. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
113. Mendick, Robert; Dixon, Hayley (26 September 2018). "Revealed: The battle-hardened Spetsnaz Brigade special forces unit that trained Skripal 'hitman'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
114. "Skripal suspect 'real identity revealed'". BBC. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
115. "'True identity' of Salisbury suspect revealed, UK defense minister says". Reuters. 26 September 2018. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
116. "Anatoliy Chepiga: Who is the 'hero' Russian colonel suspected of the Salisbury attack?". Sky News. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
117. "Salisbury novichok suspect Dr Alexander Mishkin 'photographed shaking Vladimir Putin's hand'". Independent.
118. Mendick, Robert; Luhn, Alec (9 October 2018). "Russian spy's grandmother vanishes after telling friends Putin gave him a hero's medal". Telegraph.
119. Zakharov, Sergei Goryashko, Andrei Soshnikov and Andrei (9 October 2018). "Novichok suspect traced to tiny village". BBC News.
120. "Skripal poisoning: CCTV shows suspects 'on way to victims' home'". BBC News. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
121. "U.S. targets GRU officers linked to hacking, Skripal poisoning with new sanctions". Unian. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
122. "Treasury Targets Russian Operatives over Election Interference, World Anti-Doping Agency Hacking, and Other Malign Activities". U. S. Department of the Treasury. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
123. "Notice of Intended Removals; Ukraine-/Russia-related Designations; Cyber-related Designations". U. S. Department of the Treasury. 19 December 2018. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
124. Mendick, Robert (6 January 2019). "How the UK joined the dots from Salisbury Novichok attack to Vladimir Putin". The Telegraph.
125. Russian spy: May under pressure to take firm action BBC, 12 March 2018.
126. Neil Buckley, David Bond, Henry Foy. The unanswered questions over the attack on a Russian double agent Financial Times, 9 March 2018 (print edition of 10 March 2018)
127. Russia spy attack: Theresa May has tried to back Vladimir Putin into a corner – the Kremlin will kick back The Independent, 12 March 2018.
128. Boris Johnson: UK will respond robustly if Russia poisoned spy The Guardian, 6 March 2018.
129. Government Policy on Russia House of Commons Hansard, 6 March 2018.
130. "Russian spy: Salisbury attack was 'brazen and reckless'". BBC News. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
131. Rayner, Gordon (12 March 2018). "Theresa May's ultimatum to Vladimir Putin: Russian leader given 24 hours to answer for nerve agent attack on spy". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
132. Amber Rudd orders inquiry into Russia-linked deaths in UK: Home secretary responds to calls to examine alleged Russian involvement in up to 14 deaths The Guardian, 13 March 2018.
133. Russian spy incident: Theresa May moves to dismantle Russian spy 'network' expelling 23 diplomats: Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson will announce new investment in chemical weapons facilities in the wake of the Salisbury attack The Independent, 15 March 2018.
134. Stewart, Heather; Walker, Peter; Borger, Julian (14 March 2018). "Russia threatens retaliation after Britain expels 23 diplomats". The Guardian.
135. "UK to expel 23 Russian diplomats". BBC News. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
136. "How is the UK retaliating against Russia?". BBC News. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
137. "UK to build new chemical defence centre". BBC News. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018. UK Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson ... said the UK leads the world in research into chemical, biological and radiological warfare but said this expertise needed to be developed further to confront potential hostile activity by states and individuals.
138. "Defence secretary tells Russia: Shut up". BBC News. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
139. Russian spy poisoning: Furious MPs condemn Jeremy Corbyn's response to statement on Sailsbury attack: Labour leader accused of 'policy of appeasement' after refusing to directly blame Russia for poisoning former spy The Independent, 14 March 2018.
140. Russian spy: Jeremy Corbyn aide queries proof of Russian guilt BBC, 14 March 2018.
141. BBC, 'Jeremy Corbyn was right to be cautious about blaming Moscow for the Skripal poisoning'' (15 March 2018)
142. "Jeremy Corbyn defies critics and calls for calm over Russia". The Guardian. 15 March 2018.
143. "Jeremy Corbyn points to Iraq WMDs mistake as he casts doubt on Russian culpability for nerve agent attack", The Independent, 15 March 2018.
144. UK calls for urgent U.N. Security Council meeting over nerve attack Reuters, 14 March 2018.
145. "UK blocks Russia-initiated UNSC statement on Skripal incident". TASS.com. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
146. US blames Russia for Skripal attack, in ‘absolute solidarity’ with UK, Financial Times, 14 March 2018.
147. Russian spy: White House backs UK decision to expel diplomats BBC, 15 March 2018.
148. Statement by the Press Secretary on the United Kingdom's Decision to Expel Russian Diplomats The White House, 14 March 2018.
149. "Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 87th Executive Council session: statement on the Salisbury incident". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
150. NATO. "Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the use of a nerve agent in Salisbury". NATO. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
151. "NATO calls on Russia to give full details on nerve agent program". Reuters. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
152. Wilson, Peter (14 March 2018). "Update on the use of Nerve Agent in Salisbury, United Kingdom" (PDF). Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
153. Putin personally ordered attack on spy, says UK The Independent, 17 March 2018.
154. Waugh, Paul (4 April 2018). "Johnson Under Fire As Foreign Office Deletes Russia Tweet". HuffPost. Retrieved 4 April 2018. The Foreign Secretary was making clear that Porton Down were sure it was a Novichok – a point they have reinforced. He goes on in the same interview to make clear why based on that information, additional intelligence and the lack of alternative explanation from the Russians, we have reached the conclusion we have.
155. "Labour says it deserves 'credit' for questioning if Russia was to blame for Salisbury nerve agent". The Independent. 4 April 2018.
156. Taylor, Adam (4 April 2018). "Britain's Boris Johnson accused of misleading public over Skripal poisoning evidence". Washington Post. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
157. "Agent used in Salisbury made at Russia's Shikhany military research base: Times". Reuters. 6 April 2018.
158. Knight, Amy. "Vladimir Putin's Re-Election Strategy: Nukes and Assassins". Daily Beast. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
159. Об отравлении Сергея Скрипаля Echo of Moscow, 6 March 2018.
160. "Russia says London spreading propaganda over spy poisoning". CNBC. 11 March 2018.
161. "Russia Says London Spreading Propaganda Over Spy Poisoning". The Moscow Times. 9 March 2018.
162. "Russia Says "Not Guilty" Of Ex-Spy Poisoning As UK Deadline Looms". NDTV. 13 March 2018.
163. "Russian spy poisoning: Theresa May issues ultimatum to Moscow". The Guardian. 13 March 2018.
164. "Лавров ответил на  ультиматум Мэй  ссылкой на   конвенцию о  химоружии". NEWSru.com (in Russian). Retrieved 15 March 2018.
165. В МИД РФ заявление Мэй о причастности России к отравлению Скрипаля сочли "сказками" и "цирковым шоу". NEWSru.com (in Russian). Retrieved 15 March 2018.
166. "Russia: Theresa May's comments on Salisbury spy a 'circus show'". Sky News. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
167. "Russia Rejects Britain’s Ultimatum, Wants Access To Nerve Agent". Channels TV. 13 March 2018.
168. Roth, Andrew (13 March 2018). "Russia demands nerve agent samples in standoff with UK over poisoned spy". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
169. Лавров о деле Скрипаля: Британия не соблюдает международные нормы (in Russian). BBC Русская служба. 13 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
170. Захарова: никто не может выдвигать России 24-часовые ультиматумы (in Russian). ТАСС. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
171. "No one can deliver any 24-hour ultimatums to Russia – Foreign Ministry spokeswoman" (in Russian). TASS. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
172. 60 минут. Эфир от 13.03.2018 (19:00). Отравление Скрипаля: дойдет ли до разрыва дипотношений с Великобританией (in Russian), retrieved 15 March 2018
173. "Russia expels 23 British diplomats in retaliation as diplomatic spat over Sergei Skripal poisoning intensifies". The Independent. 17 March 2018.
174. UK rejects joint probe with Russia into spy poisoning The Washington Post, 4 April 2018.
175. Нарышкин назвал «дело Скрипаля» гротескной провокацией Британии и США Izvestia, 4 April 2018.
176. "Russian embassy comments on Scripal case". TASS. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
177. "Putin demands Russian consular access to Yulia Skripal". The Guardian. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
178. "Russia demands to know why it has been denied access to the Skripals". The Daily Telegraph. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
179. "Foreign Office considers Russian consular access to Yulia Skripal". The Guardian. 31 March 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
180. "Yulia Skripal: Russian embassy 'to ask UK for consular access to daughter of poisoned spy'". The Independent. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
181. "Russian Foreign Ministry Statement". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
182. "London declines to provide fingerprints of suspects in Skripal case – Foreign Ministry". TASS. 5 September 2018.
183. Skripal suspects expressed their opinion, but this does not put lid on case. TASS, 13 September 2018
184. Russia This Week – Focus On The Skripal Case. MEMRI Russian Media Studies Project, Special Dispatch No.7673, 16 September 2018
185. "Skripal poisoning: Putin says suspects 'civilians, not criminals'". BBC News. 12 September 2018. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
186. Higgins, Andrew (13 September 2018). "We Were Tourists, Not Assassins, Novichok Attack Suspects Say". New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
187. Lavrov blasts London’s reaction to interview with Skripal case suspects as illogical. TASS, 14 September 2018
188. "Lavrov: Does Britain 'have something to hide' about Novichok attack?". Washington Post. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
189. Barry, Ellen (26 September 2018). "Russian Officer Is Named as Suspect in Salisbury Poisoning". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
190. "Слив данных: ФСБ отомстит за Петрова и Боширова". Газета.Ru. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
191. "Russian State TV Host Warns 'Traitors' After Skripal Poisoning". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
192. "Russian state TV anchor warns 'traitors'". BBC News. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
193. Глава МИД Великобритании Борис Джонсон предположил, что за отравлением Сергея Скрипаля стоит Москва., Channel One Russia (in Russian), 7 March 2018
194. Bennetts, Marc (9 March 2018). "Russian state TV warns 'traitors' not to settle in England". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
195. "Russian state TV anchor says it is 'rare that traitors live to old age'". The Independent. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
196. Elgot, Jessica (6 March 2018). "Boris Johnson: UK will respond robustly if Russia poisoned spy". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
197. "All the times Russia allegedly carried out assassinations on British soil". Business Insider. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
198. Вести недели с Дмитрием Киселевым от 11.03.18 (the relevant footage begins at 1:27:20), Vesti Nedeli, 11 March 2018.
199. Britain Poisoned Double Agent Skripal to 'Nourish Russophobia' — Russian State Media The Moscow Times, 12 March 2018.
200. Russian state TV accuses Britain of poisoning spy in special operation Reuters, 12 March 2018.
201. Russia Wants Samples Of The Nerve Agent Believed To Have Poisoned A Former Russian Spy And His Daughter Buzzfeed.com, 12 March 2018.
202. Kuzmenkova, Olga (22 April 2018). "Reality Check: Russian TV's claims about Salisbury attack". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
203. "Long read: Does the UK's case against Russia stack up?". Channel 4 News. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
204. RT UK (13 September 2018). "Suspects: We went to Salisbury as tourists to see the cathedral". Retrieved 15 October 2018 – via YouTube. UK's suspects in the Skripal case talk exclusively with RT's editor-in-chief.
205. Roth, Andrew; Dodd, Vikram (13 September 2018). "Salisbury novichok suspects say they were only visiting cathedral". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
206. Aitkenhead, Gary (3 April 2018). Salisbury: 'Precise source' of nerve agent not known. Sky News (full video interview [3mins 49sec]). Twitter. Retrieved 4 April 2018. [1m:24s] we have been able to establish it is Novichok or from that family ... [3m:26s] it is a military grade nerve agent which requires extremely sophisticated methods in order to create something that is probably only within the capabilities of a state actor
207. Kelso, Paul (4 April 2018). "Porton Down experts unable to identify 'precise source' of novichok that poisoned spy". Sky News. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
208. Deardon, Lizzie; Sharman, Jon (13 March 2018). "Russian spy attack: Hundreds in Salisbury could be poisoned in years to come with 'no cure', says nerve agent developer". Independent. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
209. Писня, Наталка (16 March 2018). "Вил Мирзаянов: разработка "Новичка" в России никогда не прекращалась". BBC. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
210. Что такое "Новичок"? Версии трех разработчиков BBC, 20 March 2018.
211. "Soviet-era scientists contradict Moscow's claims Russia never made Novichok nerve agent". The Independent. 20 March 2018.
212. Russian Scientist Says Other Countries May Have Novichok Samples. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 17 March 2018.
213. Soviet-era scientist says he helped create poison in UK spy attack row Reuters, 20 March 2018.
214. ""Новичок" уже убивал".
215. Foundation, Thomson Reuters. "Secret trial shows risks of nerve agent theft in post-Soviet chaos – experts". trust.org.
216. Quand un banquier russe était tué au Novitchok dans le Moscou des années 1990, Le Figaro, 21 March 2018.(in French)
217. В 1995 году ядом, похожим на "Новичок", отравили банкира Ивана Кивелиди, BBC, 14 March 2018.(in Russian)
218. Бывший двойной агент ФCБ в Латвии: меня тоже атаковали неизвестным веществом Delfi, 15 March 2018.
219. Former KGB agent says he was warned of Skripal poisoning Good Morning Britain, 12 March 2018.
220. Kitty Donaldson, Henry Meyer, and Irina Reznik. Finding Your Name on Russia’s Hit List: The nerve-gas poisoning of a former KGB agent in the U.K. has Moscow’s foes spooked. Bloomberg, 29 March 2018.
221. "Dutch kicked out 'Russian spies' over alleged plot to hack lab investigating Salisbury novichok". Sky News. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
222. Schreuer, Milan (14 September 2018). "Russians Planned Attack on Lab Testing Salisbury Nerve Agent, Swiss Say". New York Times. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
223. "Attributing Responsibility for the Nerve Agent Attack in the U.K." U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
224. Vonberg, Judith. "Trump: Russia likely poisoned ex-spy, 'based on all the evidence'". CNN. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
225. Haley, Nikki (14 March 2018). "Remarks at an Emergency UN Security Council Briefing on Chemical Weapons Use by Russia in the United Kingdom". United States Mission to the United Nations. Department of State.
226. Kosinski, Michelle. "Trump's National Security Council recommends expelling Russian diplomats". CNN. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
227. Statement from the Press Secretary on the Expulsion of Russian Intelligence Officers The White House, 26 March 2018.
228. Rucker, Philip; Nakashima, Ellen (26 March 2018). "Trump administration expels 60 Russian officers, shuts Seattle consulate in response to attack on former spy in Britain". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
229. США высылают из страны 60 российских дипломатов TASS, 26 March 2018.
230. "Imposition of Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act Sanctions on Russia".
231. Serhan, Yasmeen (9 August 2018). "The U.S. Sanctions Russia for Skripal Poisoning—Five Months Later".
232. Axelrod, Tal (10 August 2018). "Russia: New US sanctions a 'declaration of economic war'".
233. "Russia Warns U.S. Against Ramping Up Sanctions". Time.
234. "As U.S. sanctions Russia for ex-spy, Moscow adds to list of critics found poisoned or dead".
235. "U.S. sanctions tied to nerve agent attack in effect Monday: federal notice". Reuters. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
236. "U.S. has not imposed new Russia sanctions sparked by Skripal poisoning". NBC News.
237. "The Latest: Trump, May agree on consequences for poison use". Associated Press. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
238. "Despite Brexit, Britain wins EU support on nerve agent attack". Reuters. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
239. "UK's effort to rally allies over Sergei Skripal poisoning may fall short". The Guardian. 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
240. "Statement by the Foreign Affairs Council on the Salisbury attack" (Press release). Council of the European Union. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
241. Wintour, Patrick (13 March 2018). "UK's effort to rally allies over Sergei Skripal poisoning may fall short". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
242. "Spy poisoning: Russian diplomats expelled across US and Europe". BBC News. 26 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
243. Borger, Julian; Wintour, Patrick; Stewart, Heather (26 March 2018). "US and EU expel scores of Russian diplomats over Skripal attack". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
244. "EU sanctions Russian suspects over Salisbury". 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
245. Dewan, Angela (27 March 2018). "These are all the countries that are expelling Russian diplomats". CNN. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
246. "PM Jacinda Ardern: Why NZ is not expelling Russia diplomats". The New Zealand Herald. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
247. "Statement by the North Atlantic Council on the use of a nerve agent in Salisbury". nato.int. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
248. "Nato slashes Russia staff after poisoning". BBC News. 27 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
249. Walker, Peter; Roth, Andrew (15 March 2018). "UK, US, Germany and France unite to condemn spy attack". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
250. "Salisbury attack: Joint statement from the leaders of France, Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
251. Henry Mance; Michael Peel; Guy Chazan (6 September 2018). "Key western allies back UK over Salisbury attack". Financial Times. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
252. "Russia faces wave of diplomatic expulsions". BBC News. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
253. "Montenegro to expel Russian diplomat over UK nerve gas attack". Reuters. 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
254. Bulgaria Recalls Ambassador From Russia to Discuss Nerve Agent Attack. Reuters via US News. 27 March 2018.
255. Slovakia to Call Ambassador to Russia Back Home for Consultation. TASR.sk. 28 March 2018.
256. Luxembourg recalls ambassador from Russia over Salisbury attack. Reuters. 28 March 2018.
257. Diacono, Tim. Malta Has Just Recalled Its Ambassador To Russia. Lovin Malta. Retrieved on 18 May 2018.
258. State of play over Russian envoy expulsions. Finance.yahoo.com (28 March 2018). Retrieved on 18 May 2018.
259. Slovenia recalling its ambassador to Russia for consultations. Tass. 29 March 2018.
260. Iceland's leaders to boycott Russia World Cup over Salisbury attack. Reuters.com. 26 March 2018.
261. "Spy poisoning: Russia expels more UK diplomats". BBC. 31 March 2018.
262. "Deze diplomaat wijst Rusland uit" (in Dutch). VTM. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
263. "Canada expels Russian diplomats in solidarity with United Kingdom". www.canada.ca. 26 March 2018.
264. Nepoželjna šefica ureda ministrice, kćer počasnog konzula Moskve Večernji list, 30 March 2018.
265. "Georgia expels one Russian diplomat over UK nerve agent attack" (in Russian). Reuters. 30 March 2018.
266. "Россия объявила грузинского дипломата персоной нон грата". РИА Новости. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
267. "Russia says expels one Hungarian diplomat over Skripal case". Reuters. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
268. "Montenegro to expel Russian diplomat over UK nerve gas attack". Reuters. 28 March 2018.
269. Россия вышлет черногорского дипломата (in Russian). РИА Новости. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
270. "Novichok 999 vehicles buried in landfill". BBC News. 31 August 2018.
271. Narwan, Gurpreet (14 September 2018). "Police fall ill at chemical expert's home". The Times. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
272. "Dr Chris Busby: Police become unwell at chemical weapons expert's Devon home". Sky News. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
273. "Alternative Fakten und nationale Alleingänge – Großbritannien und Deutschland blamieren sich im Fall Skripal bis auf die Knochen". 6 April 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018 – via www.nachdenkseiten.de.
274. Cooper, Joel (14 September 2018). "Inside the bomb scare lab that belongs to Russia Today nuclear expert". Retrieved 20 September 2018.
275. Reporters, Telegraph (13 September 2018). "Chemical weapons expert arrested after police 'taken ill' at Devon home". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
276. "Bideford radiation expert held over home chemicals". BBC News. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
277. "Roads shut after 2 fall ill in UK city where ex-spy poisoned". CBS8 News. Associated Press.
278. "'No Novichok link' to Salisbury incident". BBC News. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
279. "Rat poison, Prezzo and the Russian model: odd Salisbury subplot begins to unravel". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
280. "Salisbury Prezzo novichok poisoning scare may be a hoax, say police". The Independent. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
281. Barnes, Julian E.; Goldman, Adam (16 April 2019). "Gina Haspel Relies on Spy Skills to Connect With Trump. He Doesn't Always Listen". New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
282. Morris, Steven; Bannock, Caroline (18 April 2019). "No children or ducks harmed by novichok, say health officials". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
283. Trump wrote off novichok attack of defector as 'spy games' – report, The Guardian, 16 April 2019
284. "Only 3% of Russians Believe Moscow Was Behind Skripal Attack, Poll Says". The Moscow Times. 25 October 2018.
285. Hudson, Rebecca (17 October 2018). "Breakdown of Wiltshire Council spend on Salisbury recovery". Salisbury Journal. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
286. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N33.
287. "Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills and Superintendent Dave Minty recognised in New Year Honours list". Police Federation of England and Wales. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
288. "Winners". Wiltshire Life Awards. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
289. McIntosh, Steven (14 June 2020). "TV drama revisits Salisbury poison attack 'horror'". BBC News.

External links

• Report from the Russian Embassy to the UK, "Salisbury Unanswered Questions," 4 March 2019
• "Salisbury & Amesbury Investigation –UK Counter Terrorism Policing", 5 September 2018
• "Russian spy: What we know so far", BBC, 19 March 2018
• "Amanda Erickson: The long, terrifying history of Russian dissidents being poisoned abroad", The Washington Post, 7 March 2018
• "Joel Gunter: Sergei Skripal and the 14 deaths under scrutiny", bbc.com, 7 March 2018
• Bellingcat's investigative page for the Chepiga identification – Skripal Suspect Boshirov Identified as GRU Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga