Contents tagged with Britain

  • Russian intelligence agent suspected of poisoning Skripals awarded Hero of Russia for operations in Crimea

    Colonel Anatoly Chepiga, also known as Ruslan Boshirov, a Russian intelligence agent who is one of London’s chief suspects in the Skripal poisoning case, was awarded the title “Hero of Russia” for operations he carried out in Crimea, Novaya Gazeta reports.

    This information was provided by three of Chepiga’s former coworkers from the 282nd special forces unit in Matveevka, the unit Chepiga joined as a lieutenant in 2001 after completing his studies at the Far Eastern Higher Military Command …

  • British court refuses to extradite former bank owner to Russia

    Former co-owner of Trust Bank Ilya Yurov, who was placed on the international wanted list by Russia, will remain in the UK. The Westminster Magistrates’ Court ruled that extraditing him to Russia would constitute a human rights violation.

    Ilya Yurov came to the UK from Russia after Trust Bank was reorganized in December 2014. In Russia he is accused of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds. The Russian investigation believes that, between 2012-2014, he and several other of the bank’s …

  • Skripal poisoning suspect was awarded Hero of Russia for evacuating Yanukovych

    GRU Colonel Anatoly Chepiga (Ruslan Boshirov), one of the prime suspects in the Skripal poisoning case, was head of the special operation to evacuate former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych from Ukraine, claims  Sergei Kanev, a journalist from the Investigation Control Center (ICC) who was recently forced to flee Russia. Kanev was part of the joint investigation into the Salisbury incident by The Insider and Bellingcat which uncovered the identities of the prime suspects.

    According to …

  • Russian media finds neighbors of Skripal poisoning suspects

    Residents of the Beryozovka village in Russia’s Amur province identified the Skripal poisoning suspect Ruslan Boshirov as Anatoly Chepiga, a fellow resident of their village, Kommersant reports.

    “That’s him, Tolya, one hundred percent him. Nearly black eyes, and his voice. In 1996 he finished Beryozovka school and joined DVOKU (the Far Eastern Higher Military Command School). Very smart, a good boy, intelligent, well-spoken, learned well. Everyone can only say positive things about him. Didn’t …

  • Media: Russian FSB searching for those who leaked information on Skripal’s poisoning suspects

    Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) is searching for the people who leaked information on Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, Britain’s prime suspects in Skripal poisoning case. The leaked information included Petrov and Boshirov’s passport application forms, as well as Russian border crossing information from the Rospasport and migration systems, Rosbalt reports, citing a source familiar with the situation.

    According to Rosbalt’s source, FSB operatives are looking for Interior Ministry …

  • European Union prepares sanctions in response to Skripal poisoning case

    Ambassadors of 28 EU countries have approved sanctions mechanism against countries suspected of using chemical weapons in the EU.

    The package of restrictive measures, which Britain demanded after the poisoning of ex-colonel GRU Sergey Skripal and his daughter Julia in Salisbury, was agreed on Wednesday at the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the EU (COREPER) meeting, TASS reports with reference to a diplomatic source in Brussels.

    The mechanism will come into force after the approval …

  • Britain scrambles two fighter jets to intercept Russian bombers

    British fighter jets intercepted two Russian bombers probing UK airspace, according to a statement made by the British Ministry of Defense. “RAF Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) Typhoon fighter aircraft scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth to monitor two Russian planes approaching UK airspace. The Russian Blackjacks long-range bombers were not talking to air traffic control, making them a hazard to all other aviation.,” said the Ministry of Defense in a statement.

    British Typhoon fighter jets were sent …

  • Media: Passports of Skripal poisoning suspects may unmask other Russian intelligence agents

    The passport numbers of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, whom the UK suspects of attempting to assassinate Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, may reveal the identities of other Russian intelligence agents, writes news outlet The Insider, which is working together with the investigative group Bellingcat to investigate the facts surrounding the suspects’ identities.

    Another series of studies published on Thursday state that Petrov and Boshirov’s passport numbers are virtually identical, …

  • Kyiv and London discuss military cooperation

    On Monday, September 17th, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with the Secretary of State for Defense of Great Britain Gavin Williamson. The two sides positively noted the continuous Ukrainian-British dialogue on security and defense, reports the presidential press service.

    In part, the President praised the contribution of Great Britain in strengthening defense potential and training of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and expressed hope that this cooperation would continue.

    Also, according …

  • Media finds additional links between Skripal’s poisoning suspects and Russian Defense Ministry

    The documents related to the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, which were previously published by the news outlet, Insider and investigative group Bellingcat provided new evidence of the involvement of the Russian special services in Skripal's poisoning case.

    Journalists from the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta analyzed the documents and found new references to Russian intelligence services in the investigation materials. One of these was an annotated number, “195-76-66” next …