Photo Gallery An Attack on England?
Britain is blaming Moscow for the March 4 nerve-agent attack of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia (both pictured here). Intelligence officials believe the toxin Novichok was used in the crime.
Workers in hazmat suits are seen at the site of the investigation where critically ill Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found on a bench in a park in Salisbury, England.
Former Russian chemical scientist Vil Mirzayanov in front of his home near Princeton, New Jersey. Mirzayanov was involved in the development of Novichok, and he believes it was used in the March 4 attack.
Mirzayanov says the group of nerve agents was developed by the State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) in Moscow by Soviet scientists and that the Novichok is 10 times as potent as classical nerve agents.
The nerve agent attack has dramatically increased tensions between Russia, its President Vladimir Putin and the West. Moscow quickly went on the counterattack after Britain alleged its involvement in the assassination attempts. The spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry accused Prime Minister Theresa May of putting on a "circus show in parliament" before going on to crack Sherlock Holmes joke.
But they aren't laughing in London this week. On Wednesday, Prime Minister May said it was "highly likely that Russia was responsible for this reckless and despicable act." In addition to Skripal and his daughter, the first police officer to arrive at the scene was also exposed to the toxin.
Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey has been hospitalized in critical condition since his exposure to the nerve agent. Whoever attacked Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, with a rare nerve agent is guilty of a "brazen and reckless act," and Britain will respond without hesitation when it becomes clear who is responsible, the country's security minister said.
There have been a number of mysterious deaths of high-profile Russians in Britain recently. In many cases, the trail leads back to Boris Berezovsky (pictured here in London in 2008). Berezovski himself was found dead in his home in 2013.
For many, the March 4 nerve agent attacks evoke memories of the deadly 2006 attack on Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with the toxin Polonium. Interviewed after the latest attacks, his wife said: "Oh, not again. Everything is happening again."
On Monday evening, the club of dead businessmen gained a new member. Nikolai Glushkov, the former vice president of the Russian airline Aeroflot, was found dead in his home in London. He, too, was a former business partner of Boris Berezovsky. Speculation surrounding the strange circumstances of his death have been rife ever since.
Salisbury looks like a place straight out of the picture books. Located two hours from London, the streets here in this city of 40,000 are hedge-lined and could be the scene of a Harry Potter book. It is home to a cathedral where a copy of the Magna Carta, the document that launched democracy in Britain, is on display. And now this.
