Skripal Novichok Case

Brophs

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Nothing to see here. Just two Russians doing a weekend trip to look at a cathedral twice.
 

Adisa

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Actually funny how smug the Russians must feel. Imagine them doing this to America?
 

T_Model101

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Their narrative would be a tad more believable if they had said the suspects are just an innocent gay couple who love travelling around the world :lol:
But for obvious reasons that was never going to happen
 

Classical Mechanic

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Well he could just deny everything without putting the two stooges on TV with a risible story about Stonehenge.
I don't agree. He can't deny that these two people exist because it is far too easy for them to be outed as living. Disappearing them looks even more an admission of guilt and the gross incompetence that the whole operation was. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Putin wanted everyone to know it was them so were obvious about it, but the total bodge of the assassination reflects very badly on the image of the Russian special operations agencies.
 

Mihajlovic

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I don't agree. He can't deny that these two people exist because it is far too easy for them to be outed as living. Disappearing them looks even more an admission of guilt and the gross incompetence that the whole operation was. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Putin wanted everyone to know it was them so were obvious about it, but the total bodge of the assassination reflects very badly on the image of the Russian special operations agencies.
:lol: Oh boy
 

Honest John

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Unlike the guy who 'sucessfully' done Litvinenko, Laurov and Hardski probably won't be rewarded with the seat on the State Duma and a nice dacha in the country.

Methinks this interview will be the last we see off them.
 

Red Defence

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I didn’t see the full interview.....did they visit anything else of a “tourist” nature while they were in London or did they just stay in their hotel room because it was too cold outside? Mind you. if they were so susceptible to chilly weather then maybe Petrov should have thought to bring some footwear with him that was a little more substantial than the tan loafers he chose to wear on Sunday. Bet his little toes were blue.
 

Mihajlovic

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Please, do enlighten us with your commentary on the event?
You really do believe those two clowns were on a secret mission signed off by Putin to carry out an assassination (on a CCTV infested island) by spraying a toxic substance on a door handle... and then what happened? They finish the job and go back to their organisation, where they enjoy all the protection and immunity and answer to no one but god himself, but somehow Putin starts feeling the heat, from Theresa May, and orders his highly skilled, professional assassins to GO LIVE ON TV and explain themselves, and then they end up talking about ladies perfumes and the weather! He doesn’t do it like the Mossad, whose official statement is always ‘we don’t confirm, we don’t deny’, no- Putin’s big plan is to go on TV!

I’ve watched enough spy movies to know that story is bs ;)
 

RedTiger

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They make me feel ashamed. I only live 30 odd miles away and I still haven't been to the cathedral in 40 years. The cathedral must be off the hook to travel a couple thousand miles and recon it 3 days in a row.
 

2cents

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Wasn't that around the time of the Beast from the East? Not entirely implausible that they might have found getting to Stonehenge difficult around then.

Is Salisbury Cathedral a big tourist draw?
 

RedTiger

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Wasn't that around the time of the Beast from the East? Not entirely implausible that they might have found getting to Stonehenge difficult around then.

Is Salisbury Cathedral a big tourist draw?
It's a big attraction down south but no idea about the rest of the UK. Most people I know down here have been to the cathedral, but to travel from Russia only to see the cathedral?...meh.
 

Classical Mechanic

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You really do believe those two clowns were on a secret mission signed off by Putin to carry out an assassination (on a CCTV infested island) by spraying a toxic substance on a door handle... and then what happened? They finish the job and go back to their organisation, where they enjoy all the protection and immunity and answer to no one but god himself, but somehow Putin starts feeling the heat, from Theresa May, and orders his highly skilled, professional assassins to GO LIVE ON TV and explain themselves, and then they end up talking about ladies perfumes and the weather! He doesn’t do it like the Mossad, whose official statement is always ‘we don’t confirm, we don’t deny’, no- Putin’s big plan is to go on TV!

I’ve watched enough spy movies to know that story is bs ;)
The absurdist theatre of the interview is straight from the Vladislav Surkov playbook.

I guess you’ve seen enough special forces films to know that the Moscow Theatre Siege rescue was BS too huh.
 
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Tarrou

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Did they go to Stonehenge then? That is why most tourists would go to that part of the world surely
 

MoskvaRed

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I don't agree. He can't deny that these two people exist because it is far too easy for them to be outed as living. Disappearing them looks even more an admission of guilt and the gross incompetence that the whole operation was. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Putin wanted everyone to know it was them so were obvious about it, but the total bodge of the assassination reflects very badly on the image of the Russian special operations agencies.
I didn’t mean deny they exist, rather refuse official comment pending further enquiries. The only way I can interpret today is two fingers to the UK or a performance purely for internal consumption - two innocent Russian tourists who travelled thousands of miles to see Salisbury Cathedral (of which no Russian I know has even heard) and being framed by MI5 for this unfortunate event.
 

RedChip

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:lol: Must say those guys know their facts. My best mate lives in Salisbury, literally in the shadow of the cathedral. I have visited countless times and I didn't really know until now about the cathedral height and the bell.

Russia is mocking the UK.
 

Neo_Mufc

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Who in their right mind comes to London and does not even visit the city centre :lol::lol::lol:

I'm no body language expert but the guy on the left is constantly blinking, fidgeting and clearing his throat on the RT interview.
 

Henrik Larsson

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Just saw a snippet of their press conference and can’t help but laugh quite hard at how bad they’re taking the piss.

If this were a film, those two GRU agents would’ve been an excellent choice if casted as the stooges who messed up this attack.
 

harms

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Their narrative would be a tad more believable if they had said the suspects are just an innocent gay couple who love travelling around the world :lol:
But for obvious reasons that was never going to happen
They basically said that
 

rcoobc

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How much would you care, would you really care, about an illegal UK operation in Pakistan.

A traitor hides in Pakistan. UK launch an assassination mission, and a few innocent Pakistani men get caught in the cross-fire.


How much would you really care?

This is the danger we are in. Apathy towards your perceived enemies.
 

Neo_Mufc

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Just watched the full interview.

Jesus Christ. The fella on the right seems a bit more composed but the one on the left is nervous as feck. Why hasn't the media picked up on friends/family/known business associates etc already?

What does make me wonder is. If these 2 were on a secret mission how in God's name does one feck up so bad?

Could they be used as a decoy and it was actually someone else? Everything makes sense based on the evidence but what's the likelihood that they were not alone in the UK.

Going to Salisbury twice in 2/3 days is bullshit.

I'm confident UK intelligence has a full itinerary of where these guys were by the minute and will not want to reveal everything but wait for lies to come out till they use that as evidence.
 

Henrik Larsson

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What does make me wonder is. If these 2 were on a secret mission how in God's name does one feck up so bad?
The, for lack of a better word, amateurism of this attack is so perfectly congruent with the amateurism displayed when for example the Dutch intelligence services counter hacked the 'infamous' Fancy Bear group, who were working from some university building near the Red Square. They were able to track all their actions for months, to a point where they even had access to the security cameras of the building seeing the members go in and out.

Never forget that quite literally nothing in Russia, other than perhaps the concept of kleptocracy, is really functioning like it's supposed to.
 
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Red Defence

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Just watched the full interview.

Jesus Christ. The fella on the right seems a bit more composed but the one on the left is nervous as feck. Why hasn't the media picked up on friends/family/known business associates etc already?

What does make me wonder is. If these 2 were on a secret mission how in God's name does one feck up so bad?

Could they be used as a decoy and it was actually someone else? Everything makes sense based on the evidence but what's the likelihood that they were not alone in the UK.
Fella on the right looks embarrassed and uncomfortable and rightly so...didn’t see his hands either. (Not that it matters, just an observation).

Keep thinking.......even though they know there are hundreds of cctv cameras in the U.K. they might not have realised just how many or the innocent looking places where they might have been placed. (Wonder if they were caught on camera peeing in the park or sneaking a sniff of something). They’re bound to be a little on edge about where they may have been recorded, either meeting someone or doing something suspicious, or even just how closely their whole journey may have been monitored.

Sounds possible they were used as a decoy or back up and I’d be very surprised if they were here alone.
 

Neo_Mufc

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Fella on the right looks embarrassed and uncomfortable and rightly so...didn’t see his hands either. (Not that it matters, just an observation).

Keep thinking.......even though they know there are hundreds of cctv cameras in the U.K. they might not have realised just how many or the innocent looking places where they might have been placed. (Wonder if they were caught on camera peeing in the park or sneaking a sniff of something). They’re bound to be a little on edge about where they may have been recorded, either meeting someone or doing something suspicious, or even just how closely their whole journey may have been monitored.

Sounds possible they were used as a decoy or back up and I’d be very surprised if they were here alone.
I don't think they bought Novichok into the UK (too risky and obvious IMO). I reckon it was already in the UK and it was a pick up and execute your mission (maybe a reason why they attended Salisbury twice).

Going to Oxford St to buy shoes because of the bad weather sounds like bull too.

The audacity of some of their answers though is unbelievable.

We've gone from Russia blaming the UK first of lies, then stays quiet, then the UK publishes their faces and Putin calls them Citizens, gives a thumbs up and next day they're on national television with the worst story you heard since Shaggy's - It wasn't me.

It's like the guilty man who's had a Q&A practise session with his Solicitor before entering Court. All of their replies are scripted, the way they deflect questions but contradict themselves later. They perfectly wait for the question to be answered to allow the other one time to answer. The heated questions aren't being answered immediately.

If you're innocent, why would you wait for a thumbs up from the President to then come out and give an interview.

Why do 2 Russian men visit the UK to stay in a hotel in London. Not visit any of London apart from Oxford St to buy clothes but decide to visit a Cathedral twice in 2/3 days then fly back home.

If these guys really are in the fitness industry, their lives would have been laid out to the whole world by now, because let's face it, you will be known by hundreds if not thousands of people in your local vicinity.
 

VeevaVee

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I might be cynical, but why are they tanned in the interview, but pale as feck in the pictures? It's like they've been put on the sun bed to look a bit less Russian hitman.
 

CassiusClaymore

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Wasn't that around the time of the Beast from the East? Not entirely implausible that they might have found getting to Stonehenge difficult around then.

Is Salisbury Cathedral a big tourist draw?
I've never really heard of it but then I'm not really a cathedral enthusiast like these guys obviously are.
 

NinjaFletch

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Wasn't that around the time of the Beast from the East? Not entirely implausible that they might have found getting to Stonehenge difficult around then.

Is Salisbury Cathedral a big tourist draw?
Not really. Even just in Cathedral terms you could get to St Paul's, Canterbury, York, Norwich, Lincoln, and Ely in the same time it'd take you to get to Salisbury from where they stayed and all of them have as great or bigger claims to fame (Salisbury is nice though, just not two visits in a two day trip when you have all of London in front of you nice).