Russia

“A new bit of rubbish.” That was the response of the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman to the publication of material suggesting that one of the men believed to have carried out the Novichok attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury was a colonel in Russia’s intelligence services.

One of the suspects in the poison attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter has been revealed as a highly-decorated, senior officer in Russia’s military intelligence unit, called Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga, according to the online investigation site Bellingcat. Their report claims that Chepiga was the man who travelled to Salisbury under the name ‘Ruslan Boshirov’.

The administration has imposed fresh sanctions on Russia in retaliation for the poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury in March.

It’s been reported that the government is putting in an extradition request to Moscow for two Russian nationals suspected of the Salisbury Novichok poisoning. The move is likely to put further strain on Russian-UK relations which have been difficult ever since the attack in March.

The coffee had barely been poured at breakfast when Donald Trump launched his first blistering attack on his allies. They were expecting him to lambaste them for how little he feels they are contributing to NATO’s military might compared to the United States. More of a surprise was when he said Germany was “totally controlled…

Former US Ambassador to Nato, Ivo Daalder, discusses President Trump’s approach to the summit. Are Donald Trump’s calls on NATO to spend 4 per cent of GDP on defence realistic?

The agency’s chief executive, Dawn Airey, told Channel 4 News that the piece was “not appropriate or in any way consistent with our company values or beliefs”.

  With less than 24 hours to go before the first game, and five days before England’s match with Tunisia, the Home Office has said it has blocked more than 1,200 people with a history of football violence from going to Russia. But what sort of welcome can the fans who are going to support…

As we heard earlier, much of the world is still trying to work out exactly what happened yesterday with the death and resurrection of  Arkady Babchenko. Meanwhile Moscow says the whole escapade is proof of fake news against them. It’s John Le Carre meets Carry ON. Who better to decipher fiction from fact than Andrei…

When someone comes to you and says here’s an order for your killing, do you say: “I’m thinking about the media’s reputation! Let me be killed”? That was the question posed by unrepentant Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who has faced widespread criticism for working with the Ukrainian authorities to fake his own death. The plan…

  The Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko – reportedly murdered in Kiev – turned up alive and well at a news conference in Ukraine. The Ukranian security services said the murder had been staged to expose Russian agents in their country. Mr Babchenko’s wife was not ‘in’ on the subterfuge – she’d said her husband was shot in…

The Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea FC, has been granted Israeli citizenship and has bought a home in Tel Aviv, after delays in getting his British visa renewed. Downing Street said he would be free to visit the UK, but would not be allowed to work here if he travels on his Israeli…

Two and a half months after being poisoned, the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was discharged from hospital today. He’s been taken to an undisclosed location for the next stage of his recovery It’s not been announced whether he’ll be joining his daughter, Yulia, who was also exposed to the deadly nerve agent attack in…

  While Britain places the blame for the Skripal poisonings firmly on Russia, we went to meet the exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky to ask about the Kremlin’s continuing strained relationship with the West. He was once Russia’s richest man, as head of the oil giant Yukos, before spending 10 years in prison for tax evasion.…