Novichok: nerve agent produced at only one site in Russia, says expert

The nerve agent novichok was developed and produced in Shikhany, home of a military research establishment in central Russia, according to a chemical weapons expert. Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said the information was contained in a report submitted several years ago by Russia to the international body that monitors chemical weapons, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The UK government has asked the OPCW to investigate the use of novichok in the attempted murder of the Russian former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury. Theresa May said in a Commons statement on Wednesday: “We are working with the police to enable the OPCW to independently verify our analysis.”

The OPCW is expected to arrive in the UK shortly. The onus would then be on the organisation to visit Russia to see if there are stockpiles of novichok and, if found, to oversee their destruction. If Russia insists it has no such stockpiles, it could lead to an international standoff and diplomatic wrangling at the United Nations.

Source: theguardian