Russian suspects in Salisbury poisoning linked to explosion in Czech Republic

Russian suspects in Salisbury poisoning linked to explosion in Czech Republic

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Czech police said on Saturday they were looking for two men “in connection with the investigation” into an explosion in 2014 at an ammunition depot in Vrbetice, which released images of the suspects from Salisbury, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.

Police added that the men are known to carry various passports, including Russian passports with the names of Petrov and Boshirov.

Moscow has denied any involvement in the Salisbury incident, and the men, who identified themselves as Petrov and Boshirov, claimed to have briefly visited the historic cathedral city as tourists. Putin said the two men identified as suspects were “not criminals”.

Police say the men were in the Czech Republic between October 11 and October 16, 2014, adding that they also carried passports from Moldova and Tajikistan under the names of Nicolai Popa and Ruslan Tabarov, respectively.

The Czech Republic said shortly before the announcement that it would expel 18 employees of the Russian embassy in Prague in connection with the explosion in 2014, which caused major financial and environmental damage.

“As Foreign Minister, I have decided to expel all employees of the Russian Embassy who have been clearly identified by our security services as officials of the Russian intelligence services, SVR and GRU,” said Acting Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek. said at the time.

Russian intelligence service

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Saturday “there is a well-founded suspicion that officials of the Russian intelligence services GRU, unit 29155, were linked to the explosion of an ammunition depot in Vrbetice in the year 2014.”

He added that the blast “caused enormous material damage, serious threat and disruption to people’s lives, but especially that it killed two of our citizens, two unexpected and innocent fathers.”

Babiš said he had informed European Council President Charles Michel about the investigation into the blast. The Czech Republic will discuss the blast on Monday with NATO and European Union allies, according to a tweet sent by Hamacek early Sunday.

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Hamacek would travel to Moscow in the coming days to discuss the possibility of the Czech Republic acquiring the Russian Covid-19 vaccine. The trip was canceled because he “would be needed at the government meeting on Monday,” he said.

Following the announcement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Russian state news agency TASS: “Prague is well aware of what such tricks will follow.”

In a tweet sent on Sunday, Deputy Head of Mission at the US Embassy in Prague, Jennifer Bachus, said: “The United States stands with its staunch ally, the Czech Republic. We appreciate their significant action around Russia. for his dangerous actions against the Czech Republic. “

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said the UK ‘stands in’ full support of our Czech allies, who have exposed the lengths the Russian intelligence services will go in their efforts to stem dangerous and malicious operations in Europe. to perform. ‘

He added that it “shows a pattern of behavior on the part of Moscow following the Novichok attack in Salisbury.”

Relations between London and Moscow deteriorated in 2018 when the British government pointed the finger at the two Russians who he said were the agents of the GRU. The bitter diplomatic battle also had a spate of expulsions between Russia and Western countries.
This week, the government of US President Joe Biden targeted Russia with extensive sanctions and diplomatic expulsions, which punished Moscow for its interference in the US election in 2020, its SolarWinds cyber attack and its ongoing occupation and ‘serious human rights violations’ in Crimea. .

CNN’s Tara John, Tomas Etzler, Anna Chernova, Sharon Braithwaite and Arnaud Siad contributed to this report.

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