World chemical watchdog confirms Soviet-developed Novichok used in spy attack in Britain
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in the UK confirms the nerve agent was of ‘high purity’
The Hague/London — Testing by four laboratories affiliated with the global chemical weapons watchdog have confirmed British findings on the nerve agent used in March’s attack on a former Russian spy in the UK, according to a summary of the findings published on Thursday. British Prime Minister Theresa May said on March 12 that Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia had been poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent from the Novichok group of poisons, developed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and ‘80s. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which collected its own samples in Salisbury at Britain’s request, did not assign blame for the attack, in which Russia has denied involvement, or name the chemical agent. “The results of analysis by OPCW-designated laboratories of environmental and biomedical samples confirm the findings of the UK relating to the identity of the toxic chemical that was used in Salisbury and severely injured three people,” the sum...
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