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Skripal's testimony read out in Salisbury court
In his testimony, the former GRU officer accused the Russian leadership of attempting to assassinate him, but stressed that this was his personal opinion and there was no evidence. Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter.
Former GRU officer Sergei Skripal accused Russian leaders of attempting to assassinate him in evidence read out by barrister Andrew O'Connor at the Novichok poisoning trial of Amesbury woman Dawn Sturgess at Salisbury Crown Court, but he stressed it was his personal opinion and there was no evidence, the Daily Mail reports.
He said that after leaving Russia he lived "a completely normal life for almost eight years" in England.
Skripal and his daughter Yulia were not present at the trial for security reasons.
Britain believes Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with Novichok in the spring of 2018. London concluded that Russia was “most likely” involved and sanctions were imposed. British authorities named suspects Ruslan Boshirov, Alexander Petrov and Denis Sergeev, who are believed to be Russian intelligence officers. Petrov and Boshirov said they had visited Salisbury as tourists in September 2018 and wanted to see the “famous cathedral”.
Russia has repeatedly denied involvement in the Skripal poisoning. In 2023, the Russian embassy accused London of “manipulating” the Salisbury incident to prepare for a confrontation with Moscow, which has now moved to the military-political level in Ukraine.
The former GRU officer was convicted of treason in Russia in 2006 for spying for Britain. In the summer of 2010, four Russians, including Skripal, were exchanged for 10 people accused by Washington of illegal intelligence work for Russia. In particular, Anna Chapman, Juan Lazaro and Mikhail Semenko flew to Moscow.