UK Police Believe 2 Groups From Russia Organized Poisoning of Skripals - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - UK police believe that two groups from Russia were hired to organize and carry out the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March, the Mirror reported Sunday.

British counterterrorism police are currently working on a version that one group came to the United Kingdom weeks before the poisoning to set up the operation, and the second team arrived to carry out the attack with a nerve agent, the Mirror reported, citing investigators.

READ MORE: No Proof of Russian Hand in Skripal Poisoning — German MP

On March 4, the Skripals were found unconscious on a bench at a shopping center in the UK city of Salisbury. The United Kingdom and its allies have accused Moscow of having orchestrated the attack with what UK experts claim was the A-234 nerve agent, albeit without presenting any proof.

Great Britain, the US and many European countries responded to the incident by expelling Russian diplomats, despite Moscow having adamantly refuted the allegations as groundless, instead offering to conduct a joint investigation into the affair.