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Graphic shows profile of Anatoliy Chepiga / Ruslan Boshirov.
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RUSSIA

Salisbury poisoning suspect named as Russian colonel

By Mike Tyler

September 27, 2018 - One of the two suspects in the Salisbury poisoning of Sergei Skripal has been identified as a decorated colonel in Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, according to a Britain-based investigative group.

The group, Bellingcat, said the suspect, whose passport name was Ruslan Boshirov, is in fact Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, who in 2014 was awarded Russia’s highest medal, the Hero of Russia.

Britain has charged Boshirov and another suspect, Alexander Petrov, with trying to kill Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter on March 4 with the Soviet-designed nerve agent Novichok in the English city of Salisbury. Britain has said the attack received approval “at a senior level of the Russian state,” an accusation Moscow has fiercely denied.

A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, rejected Bellingcat’s claim, saying on Facebook that it is part of an “information campaign” against Russia.

Bellingcat relies on social media and open sources in its investigations. The group has heavily focused on Russia, exposing its military activities in Ukraine, Syria and elsewhere.

On September 13, the two Russian men appeared on the state-funded RT channel, saying they visited Salisbury as tourists and had nothing to do with the Skripal poisoning. They denied the British claim that they were Russian military intelligence officers, saying they work in the nutritional supplements business.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 27/09/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Other
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