In an exclusive interview with Current Time, one of the creators of the Novichok nerve agent, Vladimir Uglyov, explained why he believes that the toxin, produced by both the Soviet Union and Russia, was used to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia. The pair were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury, England in early March 2018.
Three other individuals in Salisbury later also fell ill with similar symptoms of nerve-agent poisoning. One did not survive.
Britain identified Novichok as the substance that had poisoned both Skripals -- a charge Moscow has categorically denied.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov initially countered that a US-developed nerve agent, BZ, rather than Novichok, was responsible for the Skripals’ poisoning. Uglyov, however, rejected this idea.
The scientist's candor attracted public notice. In February 2019, street flyers accusing him of pedophilia led to police taking his fingerprints, Uglyov told Current Time in a subsequent interview. An unidentified police representative later also called about an accusation of theft that had been made against him, he claimed.
Uglyov said that he did not know whether these incidents were connected to his Novichok interviews.
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