Kremlin: No Information of Anyone Named Chepiga Ever Awarded by Putin

Sputnik News

13:40 28.09.2018(updated 14:36 28.09.2018)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that he had verified media reports about a state award handed out to Anatoly Chepiga – alleged by UK investigative bloggers from Bellingcat to be the real name of Ruslan Boshirov, a suspect in the Skripal poisoning case.

"Yes, I have checked. I have no information that a person with this name was awarded," Peskov told reporters.

The day before, Peskov said he would verify reports that Putin had allegedly decorated Col. Anatoliy Chepiga and then would provide that information to reporters.

The spokesman went on saying that it was hard to understand which of the news stories emerging from the Skripal investigation were true or false.

"The Kremlin does not want to keep addressing this issue, all the more so, having the media as a partner. All of these arguments – who looks like whom and so on – you know, in Red Square … there are ten Stalins and 15 Lenins running, and all are extremely similar to the original," Peskov told reporters.

He noted that many news stories had appeared in the UK and other media outlets in recent months, saying, "No one can figure out which of these news stories are false and which are true."

The official stated the Kremlin did not want to engage in stirring up the issue of "investigations" into the identities of Skripal poisoning suspects Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with the media. He reiterated Moscow's stance, saying that Russian intelligence services need original materials on the Skripal case to assist London and participate in the investigation.

The comments referred to Wednesday's story published by UK-based investigative blogger group Bellingcat, in cooperation with the Insider Russia website, alleging that Boshirov, a suspect in the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, was "in fact" a military intelligence colonel called Anatoly Chepiga. The outlet also claimed that the division in which Chepiga served played an important role in the Second Chechen War and was bestowed with a high state award by Putin personally.

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