One of the trained assassins wanted for the nerve-agent poisoning of Sergei Skripal in the English town of Salisbury is a decorated colonel in Russian military intelligence given the country’s highest award by Vladimir Putin. The real identity of one of the wanted men — named by counter-terrorism police as Ruslan Boshirov — can be disclosed as Col. Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga. Boris Johnson, the former British Foreign Secretary, said: “Utterly predictable news that GRU behind Skripal atrocity. At the age of 18 he enrolled in the Far-Eastern Military Command Academy in Blageoveschensk, less than an hour from his home. The academy is an elite training ground for marine commandos and officers in the Spetsnaz.

Source: National Post September 27, 2018 02:37 UTC