< p>Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal has said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered him to be poisoned with Novichok, Reuters reported. He testified during an investigation into the death of a woman who was unintentionally poisoned with the nerve agent, writes BTA.
Skripal, who sold Russian secrets to Britain, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018 after the front door handle of their home was smeared with Novichok. ;.
Four months later, local resident Dawn Sturgis died after exposure to the poison after her partner found a bottle of perfume that police believe was used by Russian intelligence agents to smuggle the poison into Britain.< /p>
Sergei and Yulia Skripal and a police officer who investigated the incident at their home were in critical condition from the effects of the military-grade nerve agent, but have recovered, as has Sturgis's partner, Charlie Rowley.
Russia has consistently denied British accusations that it was involved in these cases.
Skripal has not made any public statements since the attack, but the inquest into Sturgis's death heard him testify that both he and the British government believed Putin was responsible, although there was no concrete evidence of this .
„I believe that Putin himself makes the important decisions for him. "That's why I think he at least authorized the attack on me and Yulia," Skripal said in testimony read out in court by prosecutor Andrew O'Connor.
Skripal, who revealed he had received no threats to his life before the poisoning, says he was aware of allegations that Putin, whom he knew personally, was involved in illegal activity related to the destruction of rare metals.< /p>
„I read that Putin is personally quite interested in poisons and reads books about them,”, he wrote in the testimony.
British police have in absentia charged three Russians, who they say are GRU officers, with trying to kill Skripal and his daughter, although they have not been formally charged over Sturgis' death.
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Two of the Russians accused by British authorities of the poisoning later denied to a Russian television channel that they were involved, saying they were innocent tourists who had seen the city's Salisbury cathedral.