The former Russian spy Sergey Skripal, poisoned with his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in Great Britain on March 4 had made several trips abroad since his transfer to British territory, according to the New York Times, in particular in Prague in 2012 and in Estonia in the 2016. According to the newspaper, these movements and exchanges of information on Russian intelligence could have made it a target. London accused Moscow of nerve agent poisoning. On the trip to Prague six years ago, Skripal met Czech agents and gave him information on the Russian spy network in Europe.
Although some information was dated, Czech intelligence found it useful and continued the meetings with Skripal, according to the NYT. According to European sources quoted by the newspaper, the travels of Skripal, a veteran of the Russian military intelligence of the GRU, were many and perhaps authorized and facilitated by the British authorities. There are far fewer details on the journey to Estonia. On this shift the anonymous sources of the New York Times were more circumspect describing the information in the field as "very sensitive". A senior European official spoke of a secret meeting with a select group of Estonian service agents in June 2016, allegedly facilitated by the British secret services.
According to the well-known Czech investigative journalist Respekt, the Kremlin has tried to kill Skripal because he has broken the rules of his release, namely that he would not participate in any intelligence-related activities against Russia. In particular, Respekt said on Sunday that Skripal traveled extensively in Eastern Europe, where he advised local intelligence agencies on how to defend themselves against Russian espionage. According to the Prague newsmagazine, Skripal's travels to countries such as the Czech Republic and Estonia have been facilitated by the British Secret Intelligence Service (commonly known as MI6). The British agency then killed two birds with one stone, Respect said: on the one hand it has cultivated friendly relations with Eastern European spy agencies, while at the same time providing the Russian unemployed with a steady income.
Skripal's information was sometimes outdated, Respekt said, but they were judged to be valid enough to entice intelligence agents from Estonia, the Czech Republic and perhaps other European intelligence agencies, to travel regularly to the UK and consult further with Skripal. The contacts of Skripal with the secret services of Eastern Europe were strictly kept secret to protect him from the wrath of the Kremlin. But Moscow has discovered the activities of Skripal in some way and decided to kill the former double spy, Respekt said. The Russian government vehemently denied all allegations that it was behind an attempt to kill Skripal and his daughter.