Russia Decides to Open Its Own Probes into the Poisoning of Yulia Skripal, and into the Murder of Nikolai Glushkov in the United Kingdom

Photos Ukrinform

If one case – that has already monopolized much of the international attention this week – was not enough, the murder of former deputy director of Aeroflot Nikolai Glushkov has all fingers and minds turned towards Russia, and more specifically towards Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, which by all accounts appears to play by its own sets of rules.

The British Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, has not hesitated to blame the Russian President directly for the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, claiming that the use of the Soviet-designed nerve agent could have only been authorized at the highest echelon possible: Putin himself.  “We think it overwhelmingly likely that it was his decision, to direct the use of a nerve agent on the streets of the UK, on the streets of Europe, for the first time since the Second World War,” said the UK’s Foreign Secretary. These accusations have not sat well in Moscow, which considers Johnson’s words to be inexcusable.

The reason why Moscow wants to lead its own investigation remains unclear. However, what is certain is that with 23 diplomats expelled from both sides, and with the overall rhetoric that escalates by the day, any cooperation between British and Russian authorities promise to be tense.