E-Paper
Vladimir Putin’s fires ‘poisoner-in-chief’ over criticising Ukraine war: Report
Russia-Ukraine War: Colonel-General Eduard Chernovoltsev was incharge of NII-2 FSB, a research institute in Russia.
The head of Vladimir Putin’ s secret lab has been removed after he questioned and criticised the war in Ukraine, a report said. Colonel-General Eduard Chernovoltsev was incharge of NII-2 FSB, a research institute in Russia, The Mirror reported.
Read more: Ex-Russian commander dies 'suddenly', Vladimir Putin's strange response: Report
His staff was said to be directly involved in poisoning Navalny with nerve agent Novichok, and another Putin foe, Vladimir Kara-Murza,the report said.
However, 52-year-old Eduard Chernovoltsev has now been removed by Vladimir Putin.
“[He] greatly regretted the start of the military operation in Ukraine and, in the company of his friends, said more than once that it has all gone too far," the report said.
Eduard Chernovoltsev had been also in charge of the 8th FSB Centre [Information Protection), the FSB Special Equipment Centre and the FSB Special Communications Directorate.
Read more: Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine can freeze their sperm for free: Report
For his sacking, Kremlin blamed frequent leaks of databases, which allowed journalists to publish their investigations, including those about Vladimir Putin’s associates, the report said.
“Two years ago Eduard [Chernovoltsev] swore an oath to the country's leadership that he would block all channels of leaks,” the report said.
The report also said that Eduard Chernovoltsev was twice caught by traffic police inspectors when he was driving while intoxicated.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has bought some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, as it plans to develop combat models that can attack exploding drones which Russia has used during its invasion.
In a recent interview, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov credited drones and satellite internet systems like Elon Musk's Starlink with having transformed the conflict.
"And the next stage, now that we are more or less equipped with reconnaissance drones, is strike drones. These are both exploding drones and drones that fly up to three to 10 kilometers and hit targets," he said.
