Press reports on interception of “Russian message” in Skripal case
The RAF has intercepted messages that appear to have been sent to Russia following the poisoning of former GRU colonel Sergei Skripal, the Sunday Express reports, citing its own sources.
The message, which read “parcel delivered to destination,” was intercepted in southern Cyprus on March 4, 2018, the newspaper’s source said. The message also said that the two people “successfully left the territory.” The newspaper claimed that the message was sent from Syria to “an official figure” in Moscow.
According to Sunday Express sources, the UK sent information about the "intercepted message" to Washington, after which the United States passed a decision to expel Russian diplomats.
Britain then expelled 23 Russian diplomats, and Moscow adopted reciprocal measures. Subsequently, several EU members as well as the United States, Canada, Norway, Ukraine and a number of other countries decided to follow the UK's example in the Salisbury incident, where on March 4 British spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Julia were poisoned.