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The Indictment of Vladimir Putin

Sir Robert Owen, as expected, has today filed his report into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.

 The conclusions are stark:
1. I am sure that Mr Litvinenko did not ingest the polonium 210 either by accident or to commit suicide. I am sure, rather, that he was deliberately poisoned by others.
2. 
I am sure that Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun placed the polonium 210 in the teapot at the Pine Bar on 1 November 2006. I am also sure they did this with the intention of poisoning Mr Litvinenko.
3. 
I am sure that the two men had made an earlier attempt to poison Mr Litvinenko, also using polonium 210, at the Erinys meeting on 16 October 2006.
4. 
I am sure that Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun knew that they were using a deadly poison (as opposed, for example, to a truth drug or a sleeping draught), and that they intended to kill Mr Litvinenko. I do not believe, however, that they knew precisely what the chemical that they were handling was, or the nature of all its properties.
5. I am sure that Mr Lugovoy and Mr Kovtun were acting on behalf of others when they poisoned Mr Litvinenko.6. When Mr Lugovoy poisoned Mr Litvinenko, it is probable that he did so under the direction of the FSB. I would add that I regard that as a strong probability. I have found that Mr Kovtun also took part in the poisoning. I conclude therefore that he was also acting under FSB direction, possibly indirectly through Mr Lugovoy but probably to his knowledge. 7. 
The FSB operation to kill Mr Litvinenko was probably approved by Mr Patrushev and also by President Putin.


What he is saying is that it is beyond reasonable doubt that Alexander Litvinenko-  a British Citizen, incidently- was murdered by Lugovoy and Kovtun and that this was very probably done at the direct orders of the Russian government, and specifically the then head of the FSB and Vladimir Putin.


As always Putin, even when a smoking gun is so obvious, will probably deny everything. The problem is that the truth is inexorably coming closer and closer to the Kremlin, and with it comes another step to the allegations made by Litvinenko that Putin so feared. 


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