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Disinfo: There is no evidence of Russia’s involvement in the Skripals’ poisoning

Summary

U.S. Congressmen are insisting on introducing a new package of restrictions against Moscow because of the poisoning of the ex-GRU officer Sergey Skripal. However, no evidence of Russia’s involvement in the Salisbury incident […] has been provided by the West.

Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the Skripal poisoning claiming that the United Kingdom was never able to prove a “Russian trace” and did not provide detailed evidence of Russia’s involvement.

British police and investigations from the intelligence services have produced hard forensic evidence which was sufficient to charge two Russian nationals, identified as officers of the Russian Military Intelligence, GRU, for the attack on the Skripals. Following this attack, the United Kingdom notified the OPCW, invited them to confirm the identity of the substance involved, and briefed members of the Security Council. The OPCW’s independent expert laboratories confirmed the UK’s identification of the Russian produced Novichok nerve agent.

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publication/media

RT Russia (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 159
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 30/07/2019
  • Language/target audience: Russian
  • Country: UK, Russia
  • Keywords: Sergei Skripal, Sanctions

Disclaimer

Cases in the EUvsDisinfo database focus on messages in the international information space that are identified as providing a partial, distorted, or false depiction of reality and spread key pro-Kremlin messages. This does not necessarily imply, however, that a given outlet is linked to the Kremlin or editorially pro-Kremlin, or that it has intentionally sought to disinform. EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position, as the information and opinions expressed are based on media reporting and analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force.

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Russian Embassy in Serbia occupied by LGBT protesters

LGBT activists occupied the Russian Embassy in Belgrade in protest of the murder of Yelena Grigorieva. The police would have banned such a protest in front of the US Embassy, but this one was allowed despite the diplomatic scandal it could have caused.  

July 30, 2019
Disproof

The protest “We remember Yelena Grigorieva”, held in front of the Russian Embassy in Belgrade (Serbia) on July 25th 2019, was attended by no more than ten people and nothing resembling an occupation of the embassy, as stated in the headline, took place. The activists stood peacefully in front of the Embassy, holding banners with messages written in Serbian and Russian, such as “Punish the murderers” and “Stop the terror of LGBT people in Russia”. 

As for the claim that such a protest would be banned by the police if it happened in front of US Embassy, it ignores the fact that a far more aggressive protest by a large group of football hooligans had taken place there just four months before. 

Russian 9M729 missile does not violate INF Treaty

The Russian 9M729 missile has a range of under 500km, and is therefore compliant with the INF Treaty.

July 30, 2019
Disproof

Recurring disinformation narratives on the INF Treaty.

The US has gathered detailed information on Russia’s flight-testing of the 9M792 missile to distances well over 500 kilometres. The US has provided Moscow with substantial information about the 9M729’s violations, including geographic coordinates and dates for the tests, but Russia continues to deny any wrongdoing.

UK media watchdog fines RT without court decision

The UK media regulator Ofcom slapped RT with a £200,000 fine over its alleged breach of due impartiality rules, without waiting for the High Court in London to rule on the legality of the penalty.

July 30, 2019
Disproof

The report aims to undermine Ofcom's credibility and integrity by claiming that the body issued the fine without giving RT an opportunity to make its case in court.

This is false. The document detailing the sanction decision explicitly states that Ofcom "will not enforce the sanction […] until those proceedings are concluded" (p. 2).