DISINFO: No evidence of Russian role in Skripal poisoning
SUMMARY
One year after the alleged poisoning of Russian double agent Sergey Skripal and his daughter, the UK Government, the Western media, and NATO allies continue to accuse Russia of involvement in the incident. No evidence of Moscow’s role has been made available either to the public or to the Russian government. The Skripal “poisoning” is a false-flag operation organised by UK intelligence services to demonise Russia and its leaders.
RESPONSE
The story advances two recurring pro-Kremlin narratives, one casting the Skripal poisoning as wholly unconnected to Russia, and one portraying Western governments as pathologically anti-Russian. Notwithstanding the diplomatic tensions between London and Moscow, the UK law enforcement agencies are neither obliged nor reasonably expected to divulge the findings of an ongoing, domestic criminal probe to the Russian government. In September 2018, the Metropolitan Police made its findings available to the public, complete with a timeline of events leading up to and following the 4 March poisoning, as well as information on the Russia-manufactured nerve agent used. Later that year, a meticulous open-source investigation identified the two suspects in the poisoning as Anatoliy Chepiga and Aleksandr Mishkin, both Russian military intelligence operatives who travelled to the UK using fake names and documents. See further debunking here (in Russian) and here; this analysis of Russia's disinformation tactics regarding the incident; this commentary on the efforts by pro-Kremlin media to pollute coverage of the poisoning with contradictory and farcical narratives.