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Bellingcat / PA
2003 passport photo of Anatoliy Chepiga and (right) photo of Ruslan Boshirov, released by police
A Russian serviceman accused of poisoning in Salisbury is a military officer who received an honor from Vladimir Putin, revealed an investigative website.
As a result of the attempted poisoning in March, British investigators identified one of the two suspects as Ruslan Boshirov.
President Putin said that Boshirov was a civilian and on Russian television, he himself said he had visited Salisbury as a tourist.
But the Bellingcat website says he's actually an intelligence officer named Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga.
British officials have not commented, but the BBC understands that there is no dispute over the identification.
Chepiga served in Chechnya and Ukraine was named "Hero of the Russian Federation" in 2014.
It is believed that he traveled to the UK with a fake passport, along with another Russian national who used the name of Alexander Petrov.
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal – who sold secrets to MI6 – and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Novichok on 4 March.
Mr. Skripal and his daughter both survived, but Dawn Sturgess – a local woman not related to the original attack – died in July after being exposed to the same substance.
Who is Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga?
Aged 39, he was trained in one of the Russian elite academies and served in a special forces unit under the command of GRU, the Russian military intelligence service.
He has won more than 20 military awards for his service.
He was reportedly transferred to Moscow around 2009, where he allegedly received a false identity, Ruslan Boshirov. He has been working under cover for nine years.
In December 2014, he was named hero of the Russian Federation. The medal, awarded at a secret ceremony, is usually awarded by the Russian president.
It is only given to a handful of people each year. The timing suggests that it was for operations in Ukraine.
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On March 2, 2018, Petrov and Petrov flew to Gatwick Airport and traveled to Salisbury for two consecutive days, including March 4, the day of intoxication.
The two men returned to Moscow the same day. European arrest warrants and Interpol red notices were subsequently issued for the pair.
What is Chepiga accused of?
Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned by a nerve agent in Salisbury, where he lived. The attack was approved by the Russian state, according to the British government.
The Skripals spent several weeks in the hospital, but recovered.
- What is the GRU?
- What happened to the Skripals?
The event sparked a series of accusations and denials between the British and Russian governments, culminating in diplomatic expulsions and international sanctions.
Police linked the attack to another poisoning in the nearby town of Amesbury in June, during which Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley were exposed to Novichok after handling a contaminated perfume dispenser.
Ms. Sturgess died later.
What is he saying?
When British police identified Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that both men were innocent civilians.
A day later, on September 13, the two men appeared on Russian television and claimed they were merely tourists, traveling to Salisbury to see his "famous cathedral and its 123-meter spire".
Mr. Boshirov – or Colonel Chepiga – stated that he and Mr. Petrov worked in the sports nutrition sector, but traveled for pleasure.
They categorically denied having carried any bottle of Novichok or modified Nina Ricci perfume that the British investigators claimed contained the substance.
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Colonel Chepiga as family name on the gold star honor list on the memorial wall of the Far East Military Command School
The two men told Russian public radio that their allegations had "turned their lives upside down."
"We are afraid to go out, we fear for ourselves, our lives and the lives of our loved ones," Boshirov said in an interview.
Downing Street has called the content of the interview "deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrible attack".
What did Theresa May say?
Speaking to world leaders on Wednesday, Theresa May criticized Russia for its "desperate manufacturing" regarding Salisbury's spy poisoning.
Prime Minister accused Russia of "flagrant violation"[ing] international standards "citing" the reckless use of chemical weapons on the streets of Britain by agents of the Russian GRU ".
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected these requests, saying they were part of an "information campaign".
Dawn Sturgess died at the hospital on July 8 after handling a contaminated container
