The Poisoning of Sergei Skripal | Aric Toler
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SHOW DESCRIPTION
Location: New York
Date: Wednesday, Oct 23rd 2019
Role: Researcher & Trainer
In the 1990s Sergei Skripal was an officer for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). He operated as a double agent for the UK's Secret Intelligence Service between 1995 and 2004. In 2006, Sergei was convicted of high treason in Russia and thanks to a 'spy swap' settled in Salisbury, England in 2010.
In March 2018 his daughter Yulia visited from Russia. The day after she arrived the pair were found unconscious on a bench in the centre of the town. Witnesses describe seeing Yulia "foaming at the mouth with her eyes wide open but completely white". The pair had been poisoned with a nerve agent called A-234, leaving them hospitalised for weeks.
There is evidence that these attacks were carried out by two Russians, going under the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, following orders from the government. Russia denies these allegations and the state-run media channel RT claimed that the pair were holidaymakers and in Sailsbury to visit the famous cathedral.
Aric Toler is a researcher and trainer for Bellingcat an internet research organisation who have been instrumental in helping uncover Russia's involvement in Ukraine, the downing of MH17 and their work finding the real identity of the agents behind the Salisbury poisoning.
A man going by the name of Ruslan Boshirov, who claimed to be a nutritional supplement salesman is actually believed to be Anatoliy Chepiga. Chepiga is a GRU Colonel and a special forces veteran who has served in Chechnya and Ukraine and was awarded Russia's highest military honour in 2014.
The agent who operated under the name Alexander Petrov is in fact believed to be Dr Alexander Mishkin, also of the GRU and a trained military doctor. These discoveries have confirmed suspicions around the Kremlin's version of events.
In this interview, Aric explains his work at Bellingcat, the downing of flight MH17 and how he helped discover the true identity of Chepiga and Mishkin the Russian agents.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - Show intro
01:54 - Welcoming Aric to the show
02:00 - Working at Bellingcat
07:06 - The state of the Ukraine conflict
11:36 - The downing of MH17
27:29 - Why would Putin fear democratic elections?
30:28 - Human rights in Russia
32:57 - Journalist’s murdered in Russia
34:39 - The poisoning of Sergei Skripal
39:21 - Finding the real identity of the Russian agents
49:27 - Russia’s alignment with Assad
51:05 - What Aric is working on next
SHOW NOTES
Connect with Aric:
Connect with Bellingcat
More about the Sergei and Yulia Skripal poisoning:
Bellingcat: Skripal suspect Boshirov identified as GRU Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga
Bellingcat: Second Skripal poisoning suspect identified as Dr. Alexander Mishkin
Bellingcat: Third suspect in Skripal poisoning identified as Denis Sergeev, high-ranking GRU Officer
Reuters: The poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal
YouTube: Russia Today’s interview with Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov on the Skripal poisoning
Wikipedia: Amesbury poisonings
Reuters: U.S. imposes new sanctions on Russia over Skripal poisoning
Mentioned in the show:
New York Times: Russia tightens pressure on Ukraine with rise in natural gas price
Bellingcat: Identifying the separatists linked to the downing of MH17
Al Jazeera: Moscow contacted rebels charged with downing MH17
Wikipedia: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
Wikipedia: Buk missile system
IMDb: Chernobyl (TV Series)
Wikipedia: Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich
Wikipedia: Journalists killed in Russia
The Independent: Who really did kill Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya?
New York Times: Top secret Russian unit seeks to destabilize Europe, security officials say
Reuters: How Russia sank billions of dollars into Venezuelan quicksand
People mentioned in the show:
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