Abramovich Poisoning Was A Trick

It was only a few hours after secret talks between Russian and Ukrainian peace negotiators on March 3 that participants began reporting symptoms of toxic poisoning, such as painful tearing, temporary blindness and flaking of the skin on their faces. Among those involved was Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who reportedly asked doctors if he was dying after suspected poisoning. Boris Volodarsky is an independent intelligence analyst and former captain of the Russian Special Forces, GRU Spetsnaz. He is now an information historian and associate at the Royal Historical Society in London. He told the Insider that reports of poisoning by members of the Ukrainian government delegation as well as Roman Abramovich during secret wartime talks in Kyiv bode well for the Kremlin. He asserted that his confession had been obtained through torture and that his confession had been obtained through torture. Volodarsky has written several books detailing the history of the Russian intelligence service, including “The KGB’s Poison Factory: From Lenin to Litvinenko” (2009), “Stalin’s Agent: The Life and Death of Alexander Orlov” (2014) and ” Assassins: The KGB’s Poison Factory Ten Years On (2019). in London in 2006, poisoned with radioactive Polonium-210. He recently wrote about Western misunderstandings about the Kremlin’s secret services, given the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Volodarsky also collaborated with media outlets such as ITV and the GQ (US Edition) to investigate the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury. of the United Kingdom in 2018, when Moscow tried to assassinate a British double agent and his daughter. Volodarsky explained that modern chemical weapons include nerve agents, venous agents, cyanide, pulmonary agents, and agitation agents that can be inhaled, swallowed, or placed on the skin. Some, such as nerve agents, are generally absorbed through eye contact and inhalation and produce rapid, systemic effects. Insider spoke to Volodarsky about the current operational methods of the Russian intelligence services, including the use of poisons, and the ongoing Kremlin war in Ukraine. In several recent cases, such as the Skripal poisoning or the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny, Russia has been caught using nerve agents banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention. In the Litvinenko case another very unusual – radioactive poison was used. How do you explain these tactics on behalf of the Kremlin? From the days of the Bolshevik revolution, the endings, that is, the attempts to eliminate the Kremlin’s enemies abroad, have never ceased to fascinate Soviet and Russian leaders from Lenin to Putin. Two basic principles behind the use of poisons are delayed action and denial. Such covert operations must at best remain secret, in other words, they must be designed and carried out in such a way that the identity of the service (or agents) that carried out the operation and of the government behind it remains unknown. It has worked quite well in all recent cases, including the Navalny poisoning, where Russian leaders have categorically denied involvement. Do you think they can try to poison (or in any other way) Navalny again? In the current situation, this can not be ruled out. At a critical juncture, the regime may want to get rid of him. The FSB is Russia’s Federal Security Service, the country’s main security service set up in 1994 as the KGB’s successor. How much would Putin be involved in decisions to eliminate an enemy, and what would be the role of services such as the FSB in such covert operations? The FSB is just one of many Russian intelligence agencies authorized by the Kremlin to operate abroad. As a rule, the FSB will be actively involved in affairs within the former Soviet Union where they also act in accordance with friendly local services. Rarely and only to a certain extent are they involved in business in Europe and almost never in Great Britain and the United States. When we talk about prominent international figures such as Anna Politkovskaya, Boris Berezovsky, Boris Nemtsov or Alexey Navalny, Putin’s personal sanction is required. The same goes for his personal enemies like Sasha Litvinenko. In all other cases, it must be informed by the competent official of the Presidential Administration. In any case, his consent is required for the known termination act. As far as special operations are concerned — that is, assassinations or terrorist acts abroad — there are several secret units in Russia that are capable of carrying out such activities. Or they can hire former officers, contract assassins or amateur pilots courtesy of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader. If Putin was involved in the poisoning of Ukrainian negotiators, including Abramovich, what final outcome did they expect? Putin is certainly not “involved” but he may have been informed afterwards, which is generally not important. What is important and should be understood – as in other similar cases, take for example the poisoning of then-Russian Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar in Dublin just one day after Litvinenko’s death – was the result of distraction (this old KGB the ploy is officially known as “distraction”), distracting it from something more important. At Operation Gaidar, all the world’s media immediately stopped writing about Litvinenko – an unprecedented item in the newspapers, television channels and news agencies from Washington to Sydney and Cape Town – and turned their attention to a more prominent political figure. . Abramovich is not a political figure and does not belong to any negotiating team, either from Moscow or Kyiv, but he is known for his former big yacht, his ex-girlfriend and the former British football team. So even Insider continues to ask questions and write about Abramovich, so the result was achieved, albeit in the short term. In your opinion, do you think Russia can try to use chemical weapons (CW) or any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in Ukraine? We already see that Putin is psychologically unstable and acts irrationally. We can also conclude that he is not properly informed. What he has already done in his country is worse than any NATO attack because it has destroyed the economy, the finances and the daily lives of its citizens, who trust him, for many years to come. Putin, Lavrov, Shoigu, Patrushev and General Gerasimov are war criminals and the Nuremberg Tribunal is waiting for them, especially since people have learned what they did in Bukha and elsewhere in Ukraine. No one can categorically rule out that in their last convulsions they do not think of using WMD against Ukraine or any other country like Poland, for example. Was Putin more daring in using nerve agents and other dangerous compounds against his opponents? Putin is certainly no more “brazen” than Lenin and Stalin in eliminating his enemies, whom they considered and still consider enemies of the Kremlin. They also pretend to be enemies of the Russian people. In fact, very few people in history can be compared to Stalin, who is personally responsible for the deaths of millions of innocent victims. What is the poisoning of a human being, though very important, compared to the daily killings of soldiers, civilians and children in war? When we talk about the Russian army and the Russian secret services, which of them should be blamed for strategic and regular mistakes in this war? First of all, Putin and his submissive brainless National Security Council – all its members – are responsible for this crazy decision and its great failure. At the next level of responsibility are the FSB Fifth Intelligence Service in Ukraine and the GU (Main Directorate) of the Army Headquarters, which must provide reliable information before any action is taken. Honestly, I did not expect anything else because since Putin came to power in 2000, all the people around him have been drunk, corrupt, vicious and stupid. Those who are not, have left the country a long time ago. What do you think is missing from the Western media in covering Ukraine? The Western media, and I mean the Western media, not the Russian media inside or outside Russia, should in my opinion speak much more often to experts, including Russian experts, such as the economist Sergey Guriev, the former KGB officer at the Washington station Yuri Shvets, Bellingcat researcher Christo Grozev, political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin, military analysts such as Pavel Felgenhauer and Alexander Golts, former FSB Colonel Mikhail Trepashkin, and specialists. It does not make sense to ask …