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On 4 March 2018, he and his daughter Yulia, a Russian citizen who was visiting him from Moscow, were poisoned with a Russian-developed Novichok nerve agent,
On 29 March 2018, Yulia was reported to be out of critical condition, and was "conscious and talking".
Early years
Sergei Skripal was born in Kaliningrad,[ Стало известно, кто может скрываться под псевдонимом отравителя Скрипалей mk.ru, 23 April 2018.] Kaliningrad Oblast, Russian SFSR, on 23 June 1951.
Education, military intelligence
In 1972, Skripal completed the Zhdanov military engineering school in Kaliningrad, located in the village of Borisovo (formerly Kraußen)[ "Сергей всегда был начеку": как жил Скрипаль в России и Британии tr. "Sergey has always been on the alert": how Skripal lived in Russia and Britain BBC, 8 March 2018.] He then studied at the Moscow Military Engineering Academy and subsequently served in the Soviet Airborne Troops where he was deployed to Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War under the command of Boris Gromov.[ Sergei Skripal – the life of a double agent The Times, 13 March 2018.]
Skripal was co-opted to the military intelligence (GRU) from the Airborne Troops.[ Налоговый полицейский узнал своего вербовщика: Он оказался старым знакомым контрразведчиков ФСБ tr. The tax police recognized his recruiter: He turned out to be an old acquaintance of the FSB counterintelligence Kommersant, 16 August 2007.][ A hundred grand and hundreds of betrayed agents What was former GRU Colonel Sergey Skripal's treason against Russia? Meduza, 6 March 2018.] According to intelligence sources cited by The Times in March 2018, Skripal was first spotted for potential development as an asset by Spanish intelligence but was approached by the British recruiter around July 1995 and was given the codename 'Forthwith'.[Ben Macintyre. Sergei Skripal: 'Forthwith' gave MI6 telephone directory of Russian agents The Times, 10 March 2018.] According to the FSB, Pablo Miller was also involved in efforts to recruit other Russian assets and was in contact with Alexander Litvinenko.[ Шпион-идальго: ФСБ назвала имя британского шпиона, вербовавшего российских силовиков Lenta.ru, 15 August 2007.]
In 1996, due to his diabetes,
According to Russian prosecutors, he began working for the United Kingdom's Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) in 1995 and passed on state secrets, such as the identities of Russian intelligence agents. After his retirement, he worked in the Household Department of the Russian foreign ministry, while continuing to work for MI6.[ Лондон пообещал Москве жесткий ответ в случае причастности РФ к инциденту со Скрипалем Interfax, 6 March 2018.][Neil Buckley, David Bond, Henry Foy. The unanswered questions over the attack on a Russian double agent Financial Times, 9 March 2018 (print edition of 10 March 2018)]
From 2001, Skripal worked in the Ministry of Municipalities of the Government of Moscow Oblast.
Arrest and conviction
In December 2004, Skripal was arrested outside his house in Moscow's Krylatskoye District shortly after returning from Britain.[ Полковник на службе ее величества: Осужден агент британской разведки в ГРУ Kommersant, 10 August 2006.] In August 2006, he was convicted of spying for Britain. Prosecutors said he had been supplying MI6 with information since the 1990s and was paid $100,000 by MI6 for the information.[ Отставной полковник спецслужб Скрипаль получил 13 лет за шпионаж в пользу британской разведки NEWSru, 9 August 2006.]
Skripal was sentenced to 13 years in a high-security detention facility; he was also stripped of his military rank and decorations. The affair was not revealed to the public until after he was sentenced in August 2006.[ Оставлен в силе приговор полковнику Скрипалю, осужденному за шпионаж RIA Novosti, 30 November 2006.]
In July 2010, Skripal was pardoned by Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
Release and life in UK
On 9 July 2010, Skripal and three other Russians, who had been imprisoned for spying for the US, were freed as part of a spy swap. The four men were exchanged for ten Russian agents arrested in the United States as part of the Illegals Program.
Skripal moved to Salisbury, Wiltshire, where he purchased a house in 2011.
Skripal's wife died in 2012 of disseminated endometrial cancer. His daughter returned to Moscow in 2014 and worked in sales.
In May 2018, The New York Times reported that Skripal, though retired, was "still in the game". While living in Britain, he had travelled to other countries, meeting with intelligence officials of the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Colombia, most likely discussing Russian spying techniques.
While it was initially reported that Skripal was a close confidant of Christopher Steele, the British ex-spy who compiled the controversial Steele dossier,[ Poisoned Russian spy Sergei Skripal was close to consultant who was linked to the Trump dossier , The Telegraph, 7 March 2018.][ Kremlin accused of laying false trail linking Sergei Skripal to ex-MI6 officer behind Trump dossier , The Telegraph, 20 January 2019.]
On 28 September 2018, the news magazine Focus reported, referring to a statement of a senior official from NATO's Allied Command Counter-Intelligence Unit (ACCI) in Mons, that until 2017 Skripal worked for four intelligence agencies of NATO countries. Skripal not only traveled, accompanied by MI6 officials to Prague, where he contributed information about the active Russian spy network, some agents Skripal knew from his active service. He provided information to the secret service in Tallinn, which enabled them to identify three active Russian undercover operatives. Skripal also worked with the Spain secret service Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, informing the agency about the Russian organized crime in the Spanish region of Costa del Sol. All the trips were organized and approved by the British foreign intelligence service, MI6.[ Vergifteter Doppelagent Skripal war bis 2017 für vier Geheimdienste tätig , Focus, 28 September 2019][ Bericht: Sergej Skripal lieferte Agenten ans Messer , Deutsche Welle, 28 September 2019] Mark Urban reported that in 2017 Skripal was scheduled to meet with the Swiss Intelligence Service of the Federation.
Poisoning
On 4 March 2018, Skripal and his 33-year-old daughter Yulia, who was visiting from Moscow, were found "slipping in and out of consciousness on a public bench"
Following the incident, health authorities checked 21 members of the emergency services and the public for symptoms.
On 29 March, Yulia was reported to be out of critical condition, "conscious and talking".[ On 7 April, the hospital reported that Sergei Skripal was improving rapidly and was no longer in a critical condition, two days after the improvement had been reported in Moscow following a phone call from his daughter.][
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The police declared a major incident as a number of agencies were involved.
On 12 March 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May identified the nerve agent used in the attack as a Russian-developed nerve agentNovichok agent and demanded explanation from the Russian government.
Russia said that its diplomats were denied access to both Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who is a Russian national.[ Великобритания отказалась предоставить российским дипломатам доступ к Сергею Скрипалю (Britain refused to grant Russian diplomats access to Sergei Skripal TASS.) TASS, 18 March 2018.] On 31 March 2018 the BBC reported that the UK was considering the Russian Embassy's request, 'in line with its obligations under international and domestic law.'[ Russian spy: UK considers request to visit Yulia Skripal 31 March 2018, at bbc.co.uk, accessed 2 April 2018.]
On 6 April, the Home Office rejected the visa application of Sergei Skripal's niece, Viktoria Skripal, because it "did not comply with the immigration rules". Viktoria Skripal had intended to travel to Britain to take Yulia back to Russia.
On 30 June 2018, two British Nationals were hospitalized by chemical poisoning in Amesbury, 8 miles (13 km) from Salisbury where Skripal had been attacked. One victim died in the hospital. Police determined they were poisoned by the same Novichok nerve agent used to attempt to assassinate Sergei and his daughter, and Home Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons that the victims had likely been poisoned by the improperly discarded nerve agent used to attack Sergei.
On 16 February 2019 The Sunday Times reported, without identifying sources, that Sergei Skripal "has suffered a deterioration in his health and is being treated by doctors".
On 7 June 2020, The Sunday Times reported that Sergei and his daughter had been settled in New Zealand under new identities.
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