Russian operatives involved in the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal orchestrated a complex scheme to transport a lethal nerve agent, Novichok, from Moscow to Salisbury where they carried out the attack on March 4, 2018. The individuals, known as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, revealed to be Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, respectively, were linked to the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. They used false identities and documents to travel across Europe.
Evidence presented during the inquiry, led by Lord Anthony Hughes of Ombersley, disclosed that both Petrov and Boshirov had official ties to the GRU. Boshirov, posing as Anatoliy Chepiga, misrepresented himself as a systems administrator in visa applications, despite his actual role as a GRU colonel.
Further investigation by the UK’s Counter Terrorism Operations Centre exposed Petrov as a GRU doctor, identified as Alexander Mishkin. Petrov also falsified his identity in travel applications, portraying himself as a manager and a marketer on different occasions. The inquiry revealed a pattern of deception in their visa applications and employment histories.
The inquiry findings indicated that the operatives submitted fabricated documents, including letters of employment and bank statements, to support their false personas. The inconsistencies in the paperwork and the matching account numbers from Sberbank Russia led to the conclusion that these documents were created to perpetuate their deceptive identities.
The inquiry ultimately highlighted the elaborate web of deceit woven by the Russian operatives to carry out the poisonings in Salisbury, shedding light on their intricate planning and execution of the attack.