Russia's Daily Attacks on the UK: A Former Intelligence Officer's Perspective

Putin's Responsibility for Salisbury Attack

• 🎯 A public inquiry found Vladimir Putin morally responsible for the death of Dawn Sturgis, who died after exposure to the nerve agent Novichok.
• 💡 The inquiry highlighted that basic security measures were not in place for Russian double agent Sergey Scripple, making him "alarmingly accessible to attacks sent by President Putin."
• ⚠️ Sergey Scripple and his daughter Julia were poisoned in 2018, an attack that could have killed thousands and led to over 80 people being hospitalized.

Security Lapses and Shifting Threats

• 🧠 Former British military intelligence officer Philip Ingram states Putin is directly responsible as he would have been in the decision loop.
• 📉 Security services had shifted focus from nation-state threats to counter-terrorism, leading to a lapse in vigilance against Russian state actions.
• 📉 The poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko years prior should have served as a wake-up call, but the focus remained on Islamist terrorism.

Unanswered Questions and Ongoing Threats

• ❓ Ingram raises unanswered questions about the disposal of the Novichok nerve agent bottle and whether a threat still exists in the community.
• 🕵️ GRU agents who smeared the nerve agent on Scripple's door handle would have used protective equipment, raising questions about the open bottle found.
• 🌍 The inquiry's findings are seen as preventable, with a lack of adequate security measures failing to stop the initial attack.

Russia's 'Gray Zone' Warfare

• 📈 Russia's relationship with the UK has worsened, with increasing sanctions and ongoing attacks in what is euphemistically called the 'gray zone' below the threshold of war.
• 💻 These attacks include cyber warfare, surveying and cutting underwater pipelines and cables, bomb attacks, and recruiting criminal gangs.
• ⚠️ Ingram emphasizes that the UK needs to wake up to these daily attacks and change its attitude and response, which is currently limited to "a stiff letter."