The UK released the intelligence on Friday linking Russia to the attack on the former double agent and his daughter. “Russia’s chemical weapons programme continued after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the mid-2000s, President [Vladimir] Putin was closely involved in the Russian chemical weapons programme. It is highly unlikely that any former Soviet republic (other than Russia) pursued an offensive chemical weapons programme after independence. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is linked to the United Nations, confirmed on Thursday that a novichok nerve agent had been used in the Salisbury attack.

Source: The Guardian April 13, 2018 12:00 UTC