Khodorkovsky warned that Russian intelligence agencies were planning intimidation campaigns in Britain
Russian intelligence agencies could stage an operation in the UK similar to the 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky made this statement in an interview with The Guardian.
According to the opposition figure, the goal of such actions is not only to eliminate specific individuals but also to create a sense of vulnerability in the West. Khodorkovsky noted that it does not matter whether the victim dies, since the main objective is the psychological effect, similar to the events in Salisbury.
Currently, Russian intelligence agencies are organizing dozens of sabotage operations in Europe, and the International Center for Countering Terrorism has recorded over 150 such acts since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to Khodorkovsky, the regime’s internal vulnerability within Russia itself will become apparent in five to seven years, opening up opportunities for change. The politician emphasized that the use of “Novichok” and other acts of sabotage are tools of hybrid warfare aimed at destabilizing Western countries.
As a reminder, on March 4, 2018, former GRU-FSB officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious at the Maltings shopping center in Salisbury. It later emerged that they had been poisoned with the nerve agent “Novichok,” developed in Russia. British intelligence determined that the agent was manufactured in the Saratov region.
On June 30, two people were also found unconscious in Amesbury, a town neighboring Salisbury. Police determined that they had been poisoned by “Novichok” after coming into contact with a contaminated object.
Don Sturgess, 44, of Salisbury, and Charlie Rowley, 45, of Amesbury, were in critical condition. Rowley’s condition improved, but he later developed vision problems, while Sturgess died.
The OPCW confirmed a link between the poisonings in Salisbury and Amesbury
On September 5, British police reported that they suspected Russian citizens Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov of poisoning the Skripals. The Bellingcat group discovered that the man hiding under the name “Ruslan Boshirov” is in fact a GRU officer, Colonel Anatoly Chepiga. It also emerged that Chepiga led a special operation to smuggle former President Viktor Yanukovych out of Ukraine.
Later, Bellingcat identified the second suspect in the attack, known as Alexander Petrov. British intelligence agencies also named a third GRU agent suspected of poisoning the Skripal family. British intelligence agencies are identifying the names of two more agents who provided cover for the group that organized the chemical attack.
Meanwhile, British law enforcement has revealed “all the details” of the Salisbury chemical attack case and identified the entire chain of Russians involved—from “Petrov” and “Boshirov” to the Kremlin leadership. During the investigation into the Skripals’ poisoning, a large network of the Russian GRU was dismantled in the country.
The house in Salisbury where the Skripal family lived and was poisoned will be demolished.
