SKRIPAL POISONING
Kremlin refuses to verify awards
Kremlin denies President Vladimir Putin branded poison suspect a hero
The Kremlin refused on Wednesday to verify a claim that President Vladimir Putin decorated the second suspect in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal as a hero. Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists the Kremlin would not check out a report by British investigative group Bellingcat that the suspect it identifies as military doctor Alexander Mishkin was made a Hero of Russia, one of the country’s highest awards. "This topic, if you remember, we don’t discuss," Peskov said, saying this was "in order not to get drawn into debates with various organisations and media". Pressed by a BBC journalist on whether the Kremlin would check the claim, Peskov said: "No, no, I won’t do that. We have no official requests from the British side on this matter. "Here we have taken up a certain position, we will stick to it," he said. Bellingcat has published what it says are the real identities of both of the suspects in the poisoning of Skripal and his daughter in the Britis...
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