Two Russian spies behind Salisbury Novichok attack are ‘now living the high life after promotion to lucrative jobs in Moscow’s military elite’
- Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were accused of nerve agent attack
- Ex-intelligence officer Richard Kemp says they have likely been promoted
- Colonel Kemp says that having carried out ‘Putin’s will’ the pair have almost certainly been protected, promoted, and ‘congratulated on a bold job’
Two Russian spies accused of carrying out the deadly Salisbury Novichok attack have ‘almost certainly’ been promoted and are living the high life in Moscow, an ex-intelligence officer says.
Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov were named as primary suspects in the attempted assassination of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, who along with daughter Yulia miraculously survived the March 2018 poisoning.
But mother-of-three Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after she and her boyfriend found the perfume bottle used to contain the deadly nerve agent.
Having carried out ‘Putin’s will’, Petrov and Boshirov have likely been protected, promoted, and ‘congratulated on a bold job’ by an emboldened Russian state, Colonel Richard Kemp told the Mirror.
Salisbury Novichok poisoning suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov are shown on CCTV on Fisherton Road, Salisbury at 13:05hrs on 04 March 2018
Colonel Kemp, formerly of the UK’s Joint Intelligence Organisation and a Government terror adviser, said: ‘Russia has learned it can make up for inferior capability in its military by using chemical weapons to deadly effect.’
He added that there are ‘plenty’ of GRU officers in ‘cushy, highly paid jobs’ in Moscow, and warned that there was ‘zero’ chance Petrov and Boshirov would face justice.
In August it was reported that Vladimir Putin was ‘likely’ to have approved of the Novichok attack, and the Russian president’s involvement in the poisoning was understood to have been assessed by British intelligence agencies as well as Scotland Yard.
Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals and then discarded
Colonel Richard Kemp (right) says that having carried out ‘Putin’s will’ the pair have almost certainly been protected, promoted, and ‘congratulated on a bold job’
Last month a Wiltshire Police officer was confirmed as the sixth victim of the attack on Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia.
Dawn Sturgess died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals and then discarded.
Her partner, Charlie Rowley, was left seriously ill but later recovered.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, another Wiltshire Police officer, was also poisoned by the attack and fell seriously ill.
The Metropolitan Police said they continue to seek information about the activities of the two wanted men known as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who are accused of carrying out the attack while they were in the UK between March 2 and 4 2018.
Source: Read Full Article