O ne of the trained assassins wanted for poisoning Sergei Skripal is a decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence given the country’s highest award by Vladimir Putin.
The real identity of one of the wanted men in the nerve agent attack – named by counter-terrorism police as Ruslan Boshirov – can be disclosed as Colonel Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga.
The 39-year-old, who has served in wars in Chechnya and Ukraine, was made a Hero of the Russian Federation by decree of the President in 2014 in a ceremony shrouded in secrecy.
The disclosure, uncovered by investigative journalist organisation Bellingcat in conjunction with The Telegraph , exposes as lies Mr Putin’s claims that the Skripals’ would-be killers were innocent “civilians”.
Chepiga, posing as Boshirov, and a second man identified as Alexander Petrov, have insisted they were on holiday in Salisbury and had no connection with the attack, using weapons-grade Novichok nerve agent.
The Telegraph carries a detailed report of its investigations which you can read here.
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