SCIENTISTS SAY LITVINENKO POLONIUM POISONING BEARS HALLMARKS OF SOPHISTICATED STATE OPERATION
28 November 2006

When former Soviet spy, Alexandr Litvinenko accused the Russian state, under Vladimir Putin, of organizing his murder, the diplomatic community was faced with a possibly explosive situation. Now scientists in the United Kingdom are saying the polonium-210 isotope found in Litvinenko's system suggests a level of sophistication that would require not only state sponsorship, but likely military cooperation.

The incident could mushroom into a full-blown diplomatic and economic crisis. A head of state, possibly for personal reasons, murders a critic who is a citizen of another state, within the borders of that territory... this kind of operation would be interpreted in the past as an aggression of one state against another, in Cold War fasion.

There is now concern that as the UK finds itself in need of taking a stance against possible abuses by a foreign state, it could find the supply of petroleum and natural gas to Europe under threat. Pres. Putin's early responses to accusation he was involved claimed there was "no proof" and that the circumstances were not remarkable.

New Scientist magazine reports "Nick Priest, an expert on polonium-210 who used to work with the UK Atomic Energy Authority, argues that it would be no easy matter to obtain enough to kill someone." This despite only a small amount being necessary to induce lethal toxicity, due to the intense radioactivity of the particular isotope involved.

Priest is quoted as saying "I find it difficult to believe that it was sourced in the UK or the European Union... All the signs point to it being a sophisticated operation", adding "You would need a reactor capable of producing and irradiating materials and a radiochemical laboratory." [s]

• New Scientist: "Ex-spy's polonium poisoning suggests sophistication"

FMR RUSSIAN SPY LITVINENKO DIES IN LONDON, AFTER APPARENT RADIATION POISONING
DEFECTOR ACCUSES PUTIN DIRECTLY FOR HIS KILLING
24 November 2006

Alexandr Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, who defected after working with the Soviet KGB, and who appears to have been poisoned, died yesterday in a London hospital. Litvinenko was reportedly investigating the contract killing of investigative journalist and fellow Kremlin critic, Anna Politkovskaya. [Full Story]