“I don’t rule out that this is another provocation by British intelligence agencies,” said Lugovoi, a pro-Kremlin MP and former FSB spy agency officer. President Vladimir Putin dismissed accusations of Russian involvement and refused to extradite Lugovoi and Dmitry Kovtun, another suspect, to Britain. He also said his poisoning with “some mysterious, rare substance” may have been an attempt by Britain intelligence to blame “murderous Russia” for the suspected hit on the former spy. Profile What is Russia's GRU intelligence agency? A friend, Irina Petrova, told the Guardian she had never expressed fears that her father could be targeted by Russian intelligence.

Source: The Guardian March 06, 2018 09:20 UTC