EYE SPY INTELLIGENCE MAGAZINE 115 2018 63objective commentators continue to remind
the media of the serious nature of the Skripal
affair, and its wider implications. A chemical
agent was released deliberately in the UK. It is
an incident which could have affected so
many people. And it could happen anywhere,
a reason why the international community
thought it best to respond with haste and
objectivity.Forensic evidence secured by Porton Down and independently checked by OPCW
investigators was sufficient to convince UK allies that its source was RussiaOPCW CONFIRMS UK INTEL FINDINGS
The OPCW Executive Council
consists of 41 member statesollowing an investigation by the
Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in
FSalisbury, officials confirmed
Novichock was used in the operation
targeting Sergei Skripal. And whilst the
executive summary released by the OPCW
does not name the nerve agent, it does
support the findings of British investiga-
tors. Part of the report states: ‘The results
of the analysis by the OPCW designated
laboratories of environmental and
biomedical samples collected by the
OPCW team confirms the findings of theOPCW headquarters, The HagueUnited Kingdom relating to the identity of
the toxic chemical that was used in
Salisbury and severely injured three
people’.In response, Russian Foreign Ministry
spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said:
“There are no grounds to believe that all
this is not a continuation of the crude
provocation against the Russian Federa-
tion by the security services of Britain.”
She again accused British Intelligence of
a wider propaganda war intended to
isolate Russia and said the Russian
Embassy in London had offered to help
Yulia following her release from hospital.Anna Chapman in Red SquareThe reporting and politically-laced rhetoric
coincided with numerous Moscow media
houses backing President Putin - all were
dismissive and angry at the expulsions and
the suggestion that their president himself
green-lighted the assassination attempt.
However, most continue to warn of the
dangers of betrayal, and referred to Sergei
Skripal as an enemy. Anna Chapman, one of
the SVR spies who was exchanged in theMedical Director Christine Blanshard
announces Yulia Skripal has been
discharged from hospital and Sergei
is no longer in a critical conditionUnited States for Skripal in 2010, also spoke
out. She posted a photograph of herself on
social media, and called her one-time
intelligence associate a “traitor.” Chapman
wrote: ‘As always, Russia is guilty by default.
Despite the fact that traitor Skripal was
pardoned by the President and released’.INTELLIGENCE WINDFALLThe health of Sergei Skripal remains a guarded
secret, and though he has reportedly shown
signs of improvement (he is no longer in aP62/63 3 2/5/18, 12:49 pm