An open source investigation has identified the second suspect in the Salisbury poisoning as Russian military doctor Alexander Mishkin. Despite the compelling evidence, Russia has rejected claims that he is a GRU agent.
"Bellingcat can now report that it has conclusively identified the second suspect, who traveled to Salisbury under the alias Alexander Petrov," Bellingcat said.
The group said the real name of the man identified by UK prosecutors as Alexander Petrov was in fact Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin.
Mishkin was awarded Russia's highest state award by President Vladimir Putin, likely for activities "either in Crimea or in relation to [former Ukrainian President Viktor] Yanukovich," Bellingcat said citing witness testimony from the suspect's hometown.
'Our local boy'
Bellingcat exhausted open source material, leaked passport archives, vehicle registration and insurance databases and more to discovery Mishkin's identity.
"For final validation of our amassed findings, Bellingcat's Russian investigative partner, The Insider, sent a reporter to the village of Loyga," the research group said.
"The reporter was able to meet and talk to many residents, who all recognized 'Alexander Petrov,' the person shown on photographs released by the British police and seen in the RT interview, as 'our local boy' Alexander Mishkin."
Bellingcat have identified the second Russian suspect in the Skripal poisoning as Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin, a military doctor working for Russia's GRUImage: picture alliance/AP Photo
'Amateurish'
Ben De Jong, an expert on Russian intelligence activities at the University of Amsterdam, told DW that the latest bungles were a blow to the GRU.
"It's definitely a step back for the GRU and also for other Russian services," De Jong said. "Not only because all these names have become known, but also because they have been shown to be almost amateurish in many ways, in the way they carried out their operations."
Approval from highest authorities: UK
Bellingcat last month identified the first Russian suspected of the nerve agent attack on the Skripals as Anatoliy Chepiga, a highly decorated colonel of the GRU. Prosecutors have identified him as Ruslan Boshirov, which is said to be an alias.
The two men have denied the accusations, saying they visited Salisbury as tourists to see its cathedral. Speaking on the Russian state-funded RT channel last month, the duo said they work in the nutritional supplements business.
The UK says the two had approval from the highest authorities in Russia, a charge that Moscow has rejected.
Bellingcat said Mishkin was born in July 1979 in the village of Loyga in the Arkhangelsk district of northern Russia. It added that until September 2014 his registered home address in Moscow was the same as the headquarters of the GRU.
Russian spy poisoning: How it unfolded
The poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal has caused a standoff between Russia and the UK. Russia has denied knowledge of the poisoning but that hasn't stopped other countries taking action.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/G. Caddick
Ex-Russian spy poisoned
On March 4, former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter were found slumped on a bench outside a shopping center in the British town of Salisbury. Authorities said both were in a critical condition after being exposed to an "unknown substance." Skripal was a former general of Russian military intelligence who had been convicted in Russia for spying for the UK.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass
Russia denies involvement
Russia denied any knowledge of the poisoning, which echoed the murder of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. Litvinenko was poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. "We see that such a tragic situation happened," Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on March 6. "But we don't have information about what could be the cause, what this person did."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/TASS/M. Metzel
Nerve agent suspected
On March 7, British police said they suspected a very rare nerve agent was behind the poisoning of Skripal. "This is being treated as a major incident involving attempted murder by administration of a nerve agent," Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said in a statement. "I can also confirm that we believe the two people originally who became unwell were targeted specifically."
British police said more than 21 people had sought medical treatment as a result of the nerve agent attack. On March 8, UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd told the House of Commons that enormous resources were being used to determine who was behind the attack. Rudd called the use of a chemical nerve agent on British soil a "brazen and reckless" act that would be answered with all possible force.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/A. Matthews
May gives Russia a deadline
On March 12, British Prime Minister Theresa May told lawmakers it was "highly likely" Russia was behind the poisoning. May said the Russian government had either ordered the attack or lost control of the Russian-produced chemical nerve agent Novichok. She gave Moscow until midnight on Tuesday to explain its Novichok program to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/empics/PA Wire
EU supports UK
On March 13, vice president of the European Commission European Union, Valdis Dombrovskis, said the EU would stand in solidarity with Britain after London accused Russia of being behind the nerve agent attack. When asked if the EU might impose sanctions of Russia if it was agreed Moscow was responsible for the attack, Dombrovskis said: "Of course, the UK can count on EU solidarity in this regard."
Image: picture-alliance/empics/Y. Mok
Russia calls UK bluff
Russia failed to respond to May’s midnight deadline for an explanation of its suspected involvement in the poisoning. On March 14, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in London said Moscow would not respond "until it receives samples of the chemical substance." May had said a "full range" of retaliatory measures would be considered if Moscow did not give a "credible response" by the deadline.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
UK announces expulsions of diplomats
After Russia failed to give an explanation, May announced on March 14 that the UK would expel 23 Russian diplomats identified as "undeclared intelligence officers." May also said the UK would suspend all high-level bilateral contact with Russia. The biggest expulsions from London in 30 years would "fundamentally degrade Russian intelligence capability for years to come," May said.
Image: picture alliance/TASS/dpa/I. Dmitryachev
France, Germany, UK, US blame Russia
On March 15, the leaders of France, Germany, the UK and US released a joint statement that demanded "complete disclosure" from Russia saying there is "no plausible alternative" to Moscow's involvement. The statement said the attack using "a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia" constituted "an assault on UK sovereignty" that threatened "the security of us all."
Image: picture alliance/NurPhoto/A. Pezzali
Russia expels British diplomats
In retaliation to the UK, Russia said it would also expel 23 British diplomats, giving them the same one-week deadline. Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it would also close the British Council in Russia, and might take further measures against Britain in the event of more "hostile steps" from London. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, had said Moscow would "of course" respond with expulsions.
"It's complete drivel, rubbish, nonsense that somebody in Russia would allow themselves to do such a thing ahead of elections and the World Cup," Putin said on March 19. "It's quite obvious that if it were a military-grade nerve agent, people would have died on the spot." Putin said Moscow "destroyed all our chemical weapons under international oversight unlike some of our partners."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Klimentyev
UK says Novichok was used
On March 20, UK scientists determined Skripal was poisoned using a little-known nerve agent from a group of chemical compounds known as Novichok. The family of compounds, which were developed in the 1970s and 80s, comprise numerous nerve agents. The Soviets once developed these weapons to circumvent the Chemical Weapons Convention. Novichok-5 and Novichok-7 are supposed to be the most dangerous.
Image: Getty Images/C.J. Ratcliffe
Mass Russian diplomat expulsions
A number of EU countries teamed together on March 26 and simultaneously announced they would be expelling Russian diplomats. Germany, France, Poland, Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Latvia and Ukraine all announced they would be expelling Russian envoys. The US followed suit with the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and announced the closure of Moscow's consulate in Seattle.
Image: Reuters/G. Garanich
Poison on front door
UK police found the highest concentration of the nerve agent on the front door of the Skripal's family home in Salisbury. They believe that is where Skripal and his daughter must have first come into contact with the poison. It was likely mixed in with a "gloopy substance" smeared on the door handle.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP/F. Augstein
New Novichok victims
In early July, weeks after both Skripals were discharged from the Salisbury hospital, another two people were apparently poisoned with the same substance in the nearby town of Amesbury. A 45-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were found unconscious and were transported to the same hospital in critical condition.
