Recent Russian Intelligence Operations

[JHR]

After seven years.
If a message then to whom, for what?

[davidbfpo]

From the BBC and finally the 2017 Buzzfeed reports gain traction:

During the urgent question in the Commons, Labour's Yvette Cooper raised reports by BuzzFeed that 14 deaths in the UK had been linked to Russia by US spy agencies.
Ms Cooper, chairwoman of the Home Affairs select committee, asked Mr Johnson and the home secretary to order the National Crime Agency to urgently review the cases.
Mr Johnson said there were "a number of deeply troubling cases" and he would "certainly have that discussion with the home secretary".

Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43312625

[davidbfpo]

Citing JHR:

After seven years. If a message then to whom, for what?

I would contend some have been very patient and finally an opportunity came with the Colonel's daughter making a visit - she is normally resident in Moscow. IIRC the KGB and presumably the GRU had a stance on eliminating defectors; so has this stance remained in place? We are assuming this is not the action of unofficial persons.

For wiser words try this comment:https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...n-spy-agencies

[Windows97]

After seven years.
If a message then to whom, for what?

Quite possibly to send a message to anyone within the current regime or within the country itself who may be chafing under the Putin system that dissenters / turncoats / "traitors" will not be tolerated and can be reached regardless of where they are or when. After several years these current targets must have become complacent / lacked opsec so were probably easy targets, especially if thy hung around emigre circles.

[davidbfpo]

This incident, now classed officially as Attempted Murder(s) is the lead item in the UK news. Amidst the media furore, with a good dose of speculation and some inspired "leaks" there are a couple of significant items. No, not the official statements by politicians.

Irony too, amidst a commentary by an ex-Army intelligence person and lightly edited:

It was the British in1954 who first synthesized VX.

Link:http://greyharemedia.com/sergei-skripal-assassination/

The impact of this will be magnified as this has now been reported by the local police, with my emphasis:

he police officer left seriously ill after he was caught up in the Salisbury nerve agent attack was named as DS Nick Bailey as Wiltshire Police said that 21 people have now been treated as a result of the incident.

Link:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/08/russian-spy-condition-of-police-officer-who-helped-sergei-skripal-improves?

[Azor]

The impact of this will be magnified as this has now been reported by the local police, with my emphasis: Wiltshire Police said that 21 people have now been treated as a result of the incident.

It is an act of state terrorism and an act of war. I would be impressed if the U.K. did the following:

• Suspended diplomatic relations with Russia
• Recalled all British diplomats from Russia and expelled Russian diplomats from the U.K.
• Instituted a travel warning for British nationals travelling to Russia
• Invoked Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty
• Placed military forces on higher alert, including perhaps its SSBN force
• Banned Russian nationals from entering the U.K.
• Imposed financial/economic sanctions

But who am I kidding? The "Halifax Brigade" is in charge of the Conservative Party and Labour admires the "Axis of Revolution".

[Azor]

Selected Excerpts:

Britain deployed specialist troops on Friday to remove potentially contaminated objects from the English city where a Russian former double agent and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent. About 180 troops including some with chemical expertise have been sent to the city to remove ambulances and other vehicles involved in the incident and other objects, Britain’s ministry of defense and police said...

Health chiefs have said there is a low risk to the wider public from the nerve agent used against the Skripals, who police said were deliberately targeted with the rare toxin. They said experts had identified the substance, which will help determine the source, but did not name it publicly...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed Britain’s warnings of retaliation were propaganda and not serious.

[davidbfpo]

Slowly the attack is getting clearer and may no longer have been a public event - rather than the Skripal pair were poisoned in their private house:

Asked if there were any leads in the case, Lord Blair told the Today Programme on Radio 4: “There are some indications that the police officer who was injured had been to the house, whereas there was a doctor who looked after the patients in the open, who hasn’t been affected at all. So there maybe some clues floating around in here."

Link:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...olice-believe/

Lord Blair being a former Met Police Commissioner till 2008 and one assumes he was able to network to come out with this.

[Azor]

Breaking

Prime Minister May:

If Russia doesn't respond satisfactorily, then the government will consider attack "unlawful use of force" against UK.

For context

Defence Secretary Williamson:

Russia's being assertive, Russia's being more aggressive, and we have to change the way that we deal with it because we can't be in a situation in these areas of conflict where we are being pushed around by another nation.

Foreign Secretary Johnson:

But if, and it's still a big if, it turns out this is the agency of another state attempting to kill people on UK soil then of course the UK will respond robustly.

Home Secretary Rudd:

There will come a time for attribution and there will be, then, consequences and there will be further information that follows...The use of a nerve agent on UK soil is a brazen and reckless act. This was attempted murder in the most cruel and public way. People are right to want to know who to hold to account. We are committed to doing all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice - whoever they are and wherever they may be.

Member of Parliament Chris Tugendhat:

The first duty of government is to protect the British people - I think using nerve agents on British streets really does demand a response.