Russia has rejected any blame for the poisoning of Putin critic Alexei Navalny, but a former CIA official says 'this is something that the Russian intelligence services have been doing literally for decades, if not longer.'
"This is the way Vladimir Putin does things. And he does it both inside of Russia and outside of Russia," says Steven Hall, former CIA chief of Russia operations, discussing a history of poisonings and assassinations of critics of the Russian regime.Alexey Druzhinin/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images
Novichok has been in headlines since 2018 when it was used to poison former KGB spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Britain. The U.K. and other Western nations blamed that attack on Russia's military intelligence service, the GRU. A British police officer was also sickened by Novichok, as were two civilians — one of whom died.
"Frankly, I'm just surprised that it's taken them this long to act against Navalny," said Hall, who retired from the CIA in 2015 after three decades of running Russian operations. The question CIA officers stationed in Moscow should be trying to answer, Hall said, is whether Russia might carry out a similar attack inside the United States.
When Navalny was being treated in Siberia, doctors claimed there were no traces of poison in his system. They said he was suffering fromOn Thursday, Peskov reiterated that tests on Navalny before he left Siberia had found no toxic substances. On the same day, Russia's representative to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Ambassador Alexander Lukashevich, apparently aired a conspiracy about Navalny, suggesting Western countries had staged the poisoning.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russia is 'amplifying' claims of mail-in voter fraud, intel bulletin warnsRussia has sought to “amplify” concerns over the integrity of U.S. elections by promoting allegations that mail-in voting will lead to widespread fraud, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News, again echoing a frequent and unfounded complaint raised by President Donald Trump. Analysts
Read more »
Russia is 'amplifying' claims of mail-in voter fraud, intel bulletin warnsBREAKING: In echo of unfounded claims made by Pres. Trump, Russia has promoted allegations attempting to undermine integrity of mail-in voting, according to intelligence bulletin obtained by ABC News.
Read more »
What Was Leon Black Doing With Trump in Russia?The billionaire investor’s ’90s real estate jaunt—complete with “Georgian feasts,” a “discotheque,” and maybe a strip club—drew scrutiny from senators investigating Trump’s Russia ties. Also of interest: Black’s more recent dealings with Putin, Bannon, and Kushner.
Read more »
Russia steps up support for private military contractor in Libya -U.N. reportRussia has stepped up its logistic support for private military contractor Wagner Group in Libya with some 338 military cargo flights from Syria in the nine months to July 31 to aid Wagner fighters backing eastern-based Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, according to a U.N. report seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
Read more »
Turkey issues Navtex in eastern Mediterranean for Russia drillAccording to naval alerts, Russian forces will conduct two separate shooting exercises on both sides of Cyprus island.
Read more »