Russian suspected of assassinating Alexander Litvinenko dies from COVID-19

Dmitry Kovtun was one of two men suspected of poisoning Kremlin critic and former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko with Polonium 210 in London in 2006 , along with Andrei Lugovoy (now a member of the Russian Parliament) Kovtun met with Litvinenko at London's Millennium Hotel where it's believed they spiked Litvinenko's tea with the highly radioactive material , today the Russian TASS news agency reported Dmitry Kovtun's death due to Covid-19 infection.

One of the men accused of assassinating Alexander Litvinenko in London has died of COVID-19.

Dmitry Kovtun, together with Andrei Lugovoy, is alleged to have carried out the 2006 killing on behalf of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB).

Kovtun died in a Moscow hospital, the Russian TASS news agency said on Saturday.

Lugovoy, now a prominent member of Russia's parliament, said he was mourning the death of a "close and faithful friend", the agency reported.
news.sky.com...

a reply to: gortex

Russky's just tying up loose end's, the other guy is now a member of there parliament so he is not likely to ever become a threat but this guy may have been regarded as less suitable for them to keep around, his colleague did quite well but him not so well out of it and just maybe he was growing embittered so they made the call to put him out of the picture and maybe he did not agree with Putin's war in the Ukraine but on that one I guess we shall also never know.

I doubt it was covid that did it for him no matter what they claim.

Meh; I guess Russia has their own version of 'Arkanside' , only with a much lower body count?

originally posted by: nugget1
Meh; I guess Russia has their own version of 'Arkanside' , only with a much lower body count?

Maybe if we only look at international clean up. But there is no doubt a lot of domestic counts that don't get much attention across the ponds.

Most likely died with covid , not because of it. Big difference that the msm ignores.

New strain of COVID that is radioactive.

originally posted by: ancientlight
Most likely died with covid , not because of it. Big difference that the msm ignores.

No no no.... He died of COVID and not the bullet in the back of his head...

Statement by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova on the publication of the Litvinenko inquiry report in the UK

21 January 2016 17:23

In light of the publication on January 21 of the results of the so-called public inquiry into the death of Alexander Litvinenko in Britain, we are forced to state that we are not surprised by this outcome reached after 18 months of backdoor games played out under the guidance of a judge who was considered a top-notch professional. The Report of the Inquiry is a logical conclusion of a pseudo-legal play that was enacted by the UK courts and executive authorities with the sole purpose of slandering Russia and its leadership.

We’d like to say in this connection that this highly specific form of investigation was not, contrary to its name, transparent or open to the Russian party or the British public, but consisted of numerous closed meetings held to discuss “classified” intelligence evidence and testimony by unidentified witnesses. The use of these methods in investigation provides sufficient grounds to question the objectivity and impartiality of the verdict.

We have made it known several times that we stood in favour of an objective and unbiased investigation into the causes of death of Russian citizens in the UK. For example, Russia’s Investigative Committee took part as a concerned party in the public coroner’s inquest that was conducted in Britain in accordance with British law.

The public inquiry was launched after the coroner’s investigation was suspended, probably because it did not provide a result that would suit the British authorities. The Russian Investigative Committee terminated its participation in the “public inquiry” for the sole reason that the inquiry was non-transparent and the ultimate politicisation of legal action taken. These fears have been proved true.

We’d like to point out that two key witnesses in the Litvinenko case died under unclear circumstances by mid-2014, about the same time when the UK Home Office decided to launch a public inquiry, which strangely coincided with the flaring of tensions in eastern Ukraine. They are Boris Berezovsky and David West, the owner of the London restaurant that was frequented by Boris Berezovsky and Alexander Litvinenko and where polonium traces were found two days before the alleged poisoning of Litvinenko.

It is also indicative that an ongoing preliminary inquiry into the death of another Russian citizen, Alexander Perepilichnyy, has established that the British police had kept from the coroner’s investigation materials indicating that British intelligence services had worked with Mr Perepilichnyy. That inquiry subsequently acquired many other elements that were previously found in the Litvinenko case. In particular, police said they would apply to keep dozens of documents out of the public domain because their disclosure could damage national security or adversely affect Britain’s international relations.

All in all, the conclusion is that the UK authorities are creating a very dangerous precedent for the use of the domestic legal system in a politically laden and non-transparent investigation with preset conclusions, replacing an objective investigation with a politicised farce.

mid.ru...

a reply to: turretless

That makes no sense to have Russia's Investigative Committee to be involved since they don't do death investigations or investigate Russian Citizens.

The agency replaced the Russian Prosecutor General's Investigative Committee and operates as Russia's anti-corruption agency. It is answerable to the President of Russia and has statutory responsibility for inspecting the police forces, combating police corruption and police misconduct and is responsible for conducting investigations into local authorities and federal governmental bodies.

However considering who they answer to it makes sense from a Russian point of view as things can be covered up easier.