Second Russian blamed for Skripal poisoning named as GRU doctor - Bellingcat

[webfact]

Second Russian blamed for Skripal poisoning named as GRU doctor - Bellingcat

By David Milliken

 

FILE PHOTO: A still image taken from a video footage and released by RT international news channel on September 13, 2018, shows two Russian men with the same names, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, as those accused by Britain over the case of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, during an interview at an unidentified location, Russia. RT/Handout via REUTERS TV

 

LONDON (Reuters) - The second of two Russians who Britain blames for the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was named by investigative website Bellingcat on Monday as a military doctor for Russia's GRU intelligence service.

 

Bellingcat, which covers intelligence matters, named him as Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin, aged 39, who was charged by Britain last month under the name of Alexander Petrov.

 

Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper also named Mishkin in a separate report published on Monday.

 

British prosecutors charged Petrov and another man they named as Ruslan Boshirov in absentia with attempted murder for the Novichok nerve agent attack on Skripal and his daughter in the English city of Salisbury in March, but said they believed the suspects had used aliases to enter Britain.

 

Bellingcat last month identified Boshirov as a colonel in the GRU whose real name was Anatoliy Chepiga.

 

British police said they would not comment on speculation about the real identities of the two men facing charges, in response to a query about the latest report.

 

Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a public bench in Salisbury, and the case prompted the biggest East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War.

 

A woman later died from Novichok poisoning after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle which police believe had been used to smuggle the nerve agent into Britain.

 

Mishkin was born in July 1979 in the village of Loyga in the Archangelsk district of northern Russia, and until September 2014 his registered home address in Moscow was the same as the headquarters of the GRU, Bellingcat said.

 

"Bellingcat's identification process included multiple open sources, testimony from people familiar with the person, as well as copies of personally identifying documents, including a scanned copy of his passport," the website said.

 

Mishkin's GRU rank was unknown, it added, but based on his 15-year service was likely to be lieutenant colonel or colonel.

 

He was recruited by GRU during his studies at one of Russia's military medical academies, and between 2011 and 2018 he travelled repeatedly under the identity of Alexander Petrov, including to Ukraine and Moldova's breakaway territory of Transdniestria.

 

Russia denies any involvement in the poisoning, and the two men have said publicly they were tourists who had flown to London for fun and visited Salisbury to see its cathedral.

 

Russia's embassy in London did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

 

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Hugh Lawson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-10-09

[Guest]

This must be devastating news for Salisbury tourism department, which has been promoting their cathedral as romantic international holiday getaway.

[Topdoc]

 

 

None of the documents from bellingcat would stand up in a court of law. Meanwhile, Russia has legally verifiable original documents about the MH17 BUK missile being Ukrainian stock. No wonder they are going ballistic, the bellingcat cat is out of the bag!

[Pedrogaz]

Bellingcat, that reputable unbiased source for all things Russian, funded by the Atlantic Council, NATO's PR arm (Think Tank).

[sandrabbit]

so we Russian trolls on TV now ................

[Becker]

42 minutes ago, sandrabbit said:

so we Russian trolls on TV now ................

Yep, there are several of them jumping to Putin's defence every time there is a story even remotely critical of him. 

They can't all be useful ******. 

[manarak]

well, the new evidence that turned up, especially the naming of GRU agents that were caught on camera in the vicinity of Salisbury are pretty damning.

unless Russia provides a really really really good and believable story why and how these agents would have acted "rogue" wihout the knowledge of Russian authorities (very unlikely), we can now very much suspect some powers within the Russian authorities ordered the hit and the GRU carried it out.

 

I wonder what Edward Snowden's thoughts are about that.

[Guest]

In Finnish news there was a good article of Russian psyche, Russian ways to tell the truth and how lies are part of their culture. They have three different words for lying.

 

Lozh - pure lie or scam

Nepravda - not true, fake news

Vranjo - a lie, which both parties know it's a lie, but both act like it would be truth.

 

The Russia Today's interview of the Scripal tourist murderers was a vranjo. 

 

Perhaps our Russian members could confirm this as well?

 

Article in Finnish. I'm afraid Google translate will not do too much good in this case.

https://www.hs.fi/teknologia/art-2000005857115.html?share=29d9becfafd0fd1aefe4867eac758476

 

[bristolboy]

An article about bellingcat

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/09/world/europe/bellingcat-skripal-poisoning.html?action=click&module=In Other News&pgtype=Homepage&action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage

[Morch]

 

Of course they aren't GRU agents. These are clearly Star Trek Federation uniform. And seeing as these aren't the red colored ones, a safe bet they are in the clear.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

You mean they weren't gay lovers out for a quick weekend quickie away from the Motherland???

 

I'm shocked and devastated!!! 

[Basil B]

4 hours ago, oilinki said:

In Finnish news there was a good article of Russian psyche, Russian ways to tell the truth and how lies are part of their culture. They have three different words for lying.

 

Lozh - pure lie or scam

Nepravda - not true, fake news

Vranjo - a lie, which both parties know it's a lie, but both act like it would be truth.

 

The Russia Today's interview of the Scripal tourist murderers was a vranjo. 

 

Perhaps our Russian members could confirm this as well?

 

Article in Finnish. I'm afraid Google translate will not do too much good in this case.

https://www.hs.fi/teknologia/art-2000005857115.html?share=29d9becfafd0fd1aefe4867eac758476

 

Vranjo ...seems to sum up Putins denials of Russian involvement 

[samran]

I don’t know why this is being posted.

 

TV super sleuths declared at the time that the victims were a pair of mouthy Russians who got their just desserts at the local curry house by a bunch of patriotic locals.

 

No need to debate this. The TV experts have spoken! 

 

The mods should close this thread!

[sandrabbit]

6 hours ago, samran said:

I don’t know why this is being posted.

 

TV super sleuths declared at the time that the victims were a pair of mouthy Russians who got their just desserts at the local curry house by a bunch of patriotic locals.

 

No need to debate this. The TV experts have spoken! 

 

The mods should close this thread!

wrong topic, are you a Russian troll trying to confuse things, the topic you are talking about involved a Russian female 'model'. ?

[samran]

13 hours ago, sandrabbit said:

wrong topic, are you a Russian troll trying to confuse things, the topic you are talking about involved a Russian female 'model'. ?

I think your sarcasm meter is out of order...

[Pedrogaz]

I did some checking into Bellingcat. The owner is an erstwhile Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council-- a think tank/lobbying group set up and funded by NATO. Bellingcat itself is fully funded by the Atlantic Council and according to this morning's Independent is now hiring people as it has plenty of funds.

Note if you look up wikipedia, the Atlantic Council entry has been edited to make it read like an advertisement says a comment at the top by wikipedia asking people to reedit. Funding is vague saying it is funded by the US and more than 25 countries outside the US without listing them......NATO has 20 countries as members. The reality is that NATO funds Atlantic Council as Atlantic Council fully funds the 'independent' NGO run by its precious employee. White Helmets anyone? 

Note it doesn't mean that Belligcat are wrong.....you just wonder why they go to such lengths to cover up their sources of funding.

[Guest]

18 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I did some checking into Bellingcat. The owner is an erstwhile Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council-- a think tank/lobbying group set up and funded by NATO. Bellingcat itself is fully funded by the Atlantic Council and according to this morning's Independent is now hiring people as it has plenty of funds.

Note if you look up wikipedia, the Atlantic Council entry has been edited to make it read like an advertisement says a comment at the top by wikipedia asking people to reedit. Funding is vague saying it is funded by the US and more than 25 countries outside the US without listing them......NATO has 20 countries as members. The reality is that NATO funds Atlantic Council as Atlantic Council fully funds the 'independent' NGO run by its precious employee. White Helmets anyone? 

Note it doesn't mean that Belligcat are wrong.....you just wonder why they go to such lengths to cover up their sources of funding.

Trying to discredit Bellingcat? Isn't that something.

 

While you did your research, I'm sure you also noticed how Bellingcat has been very active investigating other Russian misbehaviours, like downing the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight? 

 

I heard St Petersburg is enjoying rather nice autumn weather today.