interview: kit klarenberg

A conversation on the skripal case, its investigation & the opcw

Assassinations Podcast covered the alleged attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal over three episodes in 2019. In this special follow-up episode, host Niall speaks with independent journalist Kit Klarenberg about the case, the official investigation into the incident, and some recent developments.

We begin the episode with a brief summary of what happened to the Skripals in the spring of 2018 - at least to the extent that that is possible given the continuing uncertainty about what really occurred. Over the course of an in-depth discussion Niall and Kit cover much ground:

• Who was Sergei Skripal and what was his ongoing connection to British intelligence?

• Who were the two Russian men identified by British authorities as having been in Salisbury on the day the Skripals were seemingly poisoned?

• How were the Russian men identified, and what was the role of the Bellingcat website?

• What was the UK media response to the incident, and what might that tell us about the official narrative?

• The strange and tragic fate of Dawn Sturgess, a local woman who, it has been claimed, was poisoned with the same substance as the Skripals.

Niall and Kit also discuss the role of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the international watchdog charged with investigating alleged chemical weapons attacks. The OPCW looked into this case, providing an account that didn’t quite line up with UK government claims.

The organization was also at this time engaged in an investigation into an alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria - but, in both investigations, did it come under pressure to reach certain conclusions?

recommended reading:

Check out Kit’s work via Twitter @KitKlarenberg or his Substack page https://kitklarenberg.substack.com/

Attribution for music used in this episode:

Assassinations Podcast Theme Music (Intro, Outro, and Transitions) written and performed by Graeme Ronald