Thread by @The_War_Economy

A BLITZ ON SERGEI SKRIPAL

Sergei Skripal has recently been in the news as he was poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May has said that Russia was behind the attack, dismissing 23 Russian ambassadors in the process.

uk.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-st…

Skripal was born on June 23, 1951 in Kaliningrad, Russia.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-433531…

Skripal joined the Russian army, where he was one of the first deployed in Afghanistan during the invasion in 1979, which was the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan War. He was a member of the Desantniki.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/…

The Desantniki were the elite airborne force of the Soviet Army. This is a photograph of them.

books.google.co.uk/books?id=KXqHC…

The Soviet-Afghan War itself lasted from 1979 to 1989, until the Soviet Union eventually pulled out of Afghanistan, ending both involvement and occupation.

theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/…

However, Skripal did not stay in the war, and instead graduated from the Diplomatic Military Academy in Moscow in the early 1980's.

metro.co.uk/2018/03/10/who…

I can only find a few references to the Diplomatic Military Academy - one is in a fiction book, the other is in a review written for the Institute For Historical Revi-

...

Here is the one from the fiction book, "Paris Weekend" by Sergei Kostin.

books.google.co.uk/books?id=PTjai…

According to Oleg Ivanov, Skripal entered the the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) through his work in the air force. Another name for the school may have been the Military Engineering Academy.

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During his career with the GRU, Skripal was posted twice in Europe, once in the 1980s and once in the 1990s, where he was then approached by British intelligence.

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Possibly during this stage, Skripal was in contact with British ambassador / intelligence officer Pablo Miller, who was known to recruit Russians to spy for the United Kingdom.

old.themoscowtimes.com/sitemap/free/2…

theguardian.com/world/2000/mar…

Also at some point during Skripal's career, he would marry Liudmila, and have two children with her - Alexander (born in 1974) and Yulia (born in 1984).

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Skripal was actually recruited in Spain in 1995 by British intelligence.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p…

Skripal was given the code name "Forthwith", and was paid £5,000.00 per meeting in Spain to disclose Russian intelligence, including him smuggling out the GRU telephone directly.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p…

By the end, Skripal had been paid £100,000.00 by MI6 for acting as a double agent, eventually leaving the GRU in 2000.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p…

Skripal then went to work for Boris Gromov, who had also served in the Soviet-Afghan War.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-433531…

By the end of Skripal's military career, he had attained the rank of Colonel.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/eur…

Despite leaving the GRU in 2000 and beginning work for Boris Gromov, Skripal maintained regular contact with MI6 until December 2004, when he was rumbled by Russia and arrested for passing state secrets.

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In August 2006, Skripal was convicted by a Moscow military court and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. He was convicted of high treason in the form of espionage.

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/eur…

The case set relations between the United Kingdom and Russia back even further, as Russia, in January 2006, had accused four British diplomats of using a wireless device hidden in a fake rock to spy on Moscow agents, which was proven true.

bbc.co.uk/news/world-eur…

The motivation for Skripal betraying Russia may have been money: the average monthly wage in Russia at the time was £160.00.

independent.co.uk/news/world/eur…

Skripal was also stripped of his rank and his medals by the secret military court.

independent.co.uk/news/world/eur…

The case was handled (at least, as far as I can tell) by chief military prosecutor Sergei N. Fridinsky.

nytimes.com/2006/08/10/wor…

When Skripal was paid, he was paid in monthly installments (as mentioned before), but also paid directly into a Spanish bank account.

nytimes.com/2006/08/10/wor…

In July 2010, Skripal was pardoned by President Dmitry Medvedev, alongside Alexander Zaporozhsky, Gennady Vasilenko and Igor Sutyagin.

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews…

Incidentally enough, this was at the exact same time as Ghost Stories, where the United States sent a Russian spy ring back home - the same spy ring that featured Anna Chapman.

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews…

This is because the Russian spy ring was traded from the United States in exchange for the four now-pardoned spies, which included Sergei Skripal.

dailymail.co.uk/news/fb-547189…

Skripal (before his release) was actually help at the prison camp Perm 35, where he met Victor Makarov, who had also spied for the United Kingdom in Russia (but a long time before Skripal did).

independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…

Unsurprisingly, Perm 35 was a part of the Gulag archipelago, which eventually closed down in 1991.

washingtonpost.com/archive/politi…

According to David J. Major, a former spyhunter for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Skripal may have also done work for the United States.

thedailybeast.com/inside-the-fbi…

The swap for the four convicted spies for the Russian spy ring occurred at an airport in Vienna, Austria.

bbc.co.uk/news/10564994

The four convicted spies - including Skripal - were then picked up by a United States plane, a Vision Airlines Boeing 767-200, which stopped off at Brize Norton RAF base in Oxfordshire, England.

bbc.co.uk/news/10564994

Upon landing in Oxfordshire, Skripal had already made the decision to remain in the United Kingdom.

theguardian.com/world/2010/jul…

Alongside Skripal, Sutyagin also departed from the plane in Oxfordshire. The other two traveled to Dulles International Airport outside of Washington.

nytimes.com/2010/07/10/wor…

The spy swap in Vienna happened days before President Medvedev would visit the White House, as President Obama became aware of the Russian spy ring, arrested them, and arranged for the four convicted spies to be released.

nytimes.com/2010/07/10/wor…

After the swap and arrival at Oxfordshire, Skripal and Sutyagin were then placed in a hotel near London.

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews…

On July 11, 2010, Skripal and Sutyagin were also debriefed in a secret location near London by MI5 and MI6 officers.

theguardian.com/world/2010/jul…

As Skripal had worked for the United Kingdom, he was expected to be debriefed for months, and then given the chance to have a home and a pension.

theguardian.com/world/2010/jul…

Skripal eventually did purchase a home in Salisbury in 2011 for £260,000.00, which was bought under his name, residing there with his wife, Liudmila.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

At the same time, Skripal continued providing information to British intelligence services and other western intelligence agencies (presumably American ones because of the spy swap), but stopped after a while.

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Skripal's wife passed away on October 23, 2012, at the age of 59, from disseminated endometrial carcinoma.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

Skripal would also talk about his history as a spy to the people in Salisbury, using refuge in audacity to both talk about it and not talk about it at the same time.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/p…

Brief rewind - Skripal was recruited into MI6 in Tallinn, Estonia. Pablo Miller worked as his handler. He was apparently hired in 1995.

dailymail.co.uk/news/fb-547189…

edition.cnn.com/2018/03/08/wor…

kommersant.ru/doc/795751

Small thread on Pablo Miller here:

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At some point in or after 2015, Skripal's older brother passed away due to unknown circumstances.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-432976…

In March 2017, Skripal's son, Alexander, passed away in St. Petersburg, also in unknown circumstances.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

More information: Valery Skripal (his brother) died after a crash in March 2016, and Valery's widow resides in Kazakhstan.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

Valery's wife is named Svetlana.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

Alexander Skripal, meanwhile, passed away in a hospital while on holiday with his girlfriend, possibly of liver failure.

huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/russian-…

Alexander's girlfriend may have been a 49-year-old named Anna.

thesun.co.uk/news/5759825/r…

Skripal's father was named Viktor, who served as a Russian soldier in Lithuania.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

Skripal's daughter, Yulia, was mainly spending time in Moscow, having moved back in 2015 to possibly be with her boyfriend, but remained in touch with Skripal over Skype.

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Yulia then decided to visit Skripal in Salisbury on March 2, 2018 to stay for a few days.

metro.co.uk/2018/03/10/who…

On March 4, 2018, Skripal and Yulia fell ill after being exposed to an unknown substance in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury. Yulia was airlifted to Salisbury district hospital, while Skripal was taken by road.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

At the scene of the poisoning, one of them had vomited, with firefighters sent in to decontaminate it. The next day, both firefighters and police were at the hospital, and a major incident was declared.

theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/m…

Prior to being transported to the hospital, both Skripal and Yulia were found unconscious on a bench.

theguardian.com/world/2018/mar…

As a precaution, Zizzi on Castle Street was closed down by Wiltshire Police during the night, but Public Health England were sure that there was no risk to the public at Zizzi.

mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/i…

The police arrived at Skripal's home in the night as well, where they (and the media) met with James Puttock, one of the neighbours.

theguardian.com/world/2018/mar…

One police officer fell seriously ill after attending to Skripal and Yulia, while another was treated as an outpatient.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-433156…

Prime Minister Theresa May informed the House of Commons that Skripal and Yulia had been infected with the nerve agent Novichok.

standard.co.uk/news/politics/…

Novichok is part of the fourth generation of solid nerve agents from the Soviet Union, using materials which are legal under the international Chemical Weapons Convention, which was implemented in 1997.

bloomberg.com/view/articles/…

The use of Novichok on British soil marks the first time a nerve agent has been used on European territory since World War II.

gov.uk/government/spe…

However, according to the book "In the Name of Science" written by Andrew Goliszek, Cuba also developed its own Novichok agents with assistance from former Soviet Union scientists.

books.google.co.uk/books?id=jzbcS…

The United Kingdom was concerned in 2008 about the Soviet Union developing novichok agents.

wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/0…

Igor Sutyagin compared Skripal's poisoning to that of Kim Jong-un's brother at Kuala Lumpur airport, noting that they were similar.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

One theory which has been submitted is that Novichok was applied to the handles of Skripal's car doors, which led to both Skripal and Yulia being poisoned.

uk.businessinsider.com/officials-repo…

Neil Basu at London's Metropolitan Police has appealed for witnesses who have seen either the Skripals or their car, a red BMW, prior to their arrival at the car park.

uk.businessinsider.com/officials-repo…

Aside from the two police officers that were put into care in the hospital after falling ill, there were others up to around 10 who were later treated.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

CCTV footage of Skripal and Yulia was supposedly captured as well, though they are moving at the time of this picture.

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5…

Prime Minister Theresa May, on March 13, 2018, gave President Vladimir Putin 24 hours to explain the incident surrounding Skripal, Yulia and Novichok.

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Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, responded by requesting a sample of the substance used in the attack to verify.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-433818…

The response was not good enough and Prime Minister May gave a statement in the House of Commons to dictate an official response.

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23 Russian diplomats were to be expelled after being identified as undeclared intelligence officers; legislative powers would be developed to harden defences; and increasing surveillance on national security threats.

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Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the Labour Party, disagreed with the assessment and said the British Government should open the dialogue and determine whether it is Russia, recalling a similar framing as the beginnings of the Iraq War.

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Jacob Rees-Mogg called to freeze Russian assets.

express.co.uk/news/politics/…

Nigel Farage agreed with Prime Minister May's actions against Russia, although questioned whether it would be effective.

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The European Union expressed solidarity with the United Kingdom.

independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi…

Prime Minister May spoke with President Donald Trump, who said Russia must speak about how Novichok came to be used in the United Kingdom, and for consequences on those that used it.

whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…

John Glen, the Member of Parliament for Salisbury, was obviously under-prepared for the situation but willing to tackle it. (Who can really be prepared for this type of situation?)

thetimes.co.uk/article/john-g…

I am stopping there as well. I will add it to the spotlight pastebin.