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Graphic shows a timeline of nerve agent attack as released by Russian news agency Fontanka and the Metropolitan Police in London.
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RUSSIA

Suspect GRU agents named in spy poisoning

By Duncan Mil

September 7, 2018 - Two Russians charged with carrying out a nerve agent attack in the UK travelled widely in Europe and made a previous trip to London. Britain claims the suspects are agents of the GRU, Russian military intelligence.

Russian citizens identified as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were charged in absentia by Britain on Wednesday with trying to murder Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with the military-grade nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury on March 4.

Two men using the same passports as Petrov and Boshirov travelled widely in Europe and made a previous trip to Britain, according to an online Russian news outlet, Fontanka.

Fontanka -- an independent Russian media outlet with a strong track record of investigative journalism -- reported that Boshirov and Petrov received their current passports roughly two years ago, and have since made frequent trips to Europe. Between September 2016 and March 2018, the two men visited Amsterdam, Geneva, Milan, and repeatedly went to Paris. Before the Salisbury attack, Petrov made at least one trip to London, arriving on February 28 and leaving on March 5.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 07/09/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Associated Press, Getty Images
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