According to an investigation by journalists of Novaya Gazeta, the man is a Colonel of Russia's military intelligence. Moreover, the information published suggests that Boshirov-Chepiga actually received the title “Hero of Russia” from the Russian president (under a classified decree). It is reported that he was awarded for his involvement in the events in Ukraine in 2014.
The Information Resistance OSINT group believes however that it is much more interesting to talk about the versions that are now being spun in the information space.
We have to proceed from the fact that the FSB has leaked information about who is the so-called Ruslan Boshirov. The security service leaked the passport data of Boshirov-Chepiga from the Federal Migration Service. This was done, of course, with aim to inflict a reputational and financial blow on the GRU and the Ministry of Defense as a whole.
At the same time, the GRU is now attempting to conceal the real role of the structure and Anatoly Chepiga in particular in the events in Ukraine in 2014.
According to Radio Liberty, the name of Chepiga is really stamped on granite slabs near the monument to Rokossovskiy – at the premises of the Far Eastern Military Command School of the Ministry of Defense (Blagoveshchensk). Moreover, the website of the DOSAAF branch in the Amur Region reports that the title of Hero of Russia was awarded to Anatoly Chepiga in December 2014 “for fulfilling the peacekeeping mission.”
It’s not hard to understand that it's about the events in Ukraine. But then the extremely non-random reflections of various investigators started to emerge.
The Novaya Gazeta website published an interview with three of Chepiga's colleagues from the 282nd Special Forces Detachment. And one of them (a person who wished to remain anonymous) said that the Skripal’s poisoner received the title of a hero for a successful operation in Crimea.
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“Chepiga got the title of Hero of Russia for Crimea. The names of the graduates who received the title of a hero are carved on the stele near the monument to Rokossovskiy in the Military Command School. The names of Chepiga and Colonel Alexander Popov are there. They got the title of Hero of Russia under a single classified presidential decree, specifically for Crimea. Popov commanded a special detachment then, and Chepiga was a lieutenant colonel at that time. I can’t even imagine what exactly Chepiga was doing in Crimea,” his colleague says.
Further he made some suggestions: an operation to seize the building of the Council of Ministers of Crimea; the seizure of the Belbek airfield, and the disarmament of the marine infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Army in Feodosia.
It looks like Chepiga is a real Russian military intelligence officer, but he did not participate in bloody covert operations on the territory of Ukraine. As Novaya Gazeta says, all three of the above mentioned actions saw no bloodshed.
But then another piece of information appears, obtained by the former investigative journalist of the Investigation Management Center, Sergey Kanev: Chepiga received a hero title for transporting Yanukovych to Russia.
“Chepiga-Boshirov participated in the evacuation of Yanukovych to Russia. At least this is indicated by my sources. He and his Special Forces detachment arrived at Mezhyhirya, the residence of Yanukovych. He was there, he guarded Yanukovych. From there, they transported him to Crimea and after that to Russia,” the journalist said.
And again we see that the journalist, as in the case with the investigators of the Novaya Gazeta, refers to some sources whose names he does not wish to disclose. Again, it is about an operation to evacuate the former president, a peaceful act (without bloodshed).
There is the impression that someone (suppose it’s the GRU), realizing that it’s impossible to hide Chepiga’s past and that is impossible to evade the fact of the latter’s participation in the events in Ukraine in 2014, came to a single conclusion: to show that Chepiga is a man who was not engaged in the murder of Ukrainians. And what about Skripal? He didn’t die either. This is the logic.
And this has already been granted concession from the Kremlin in the form of a speech by the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov. After all, he said: “I don’t have information that a person with this name was awarded,” adding to this that the Kremlin no longer has a desire to discuss the so-called Boshirov and Petrov case.
However, this is unlikely to stop the FSB and another agency, the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation. The head of the latter, Sergey Naryshkin, clearly indicated that Skripal was poisoned unprofessionally. It is a tentative signal to the GRU, which shows that the story with Chepiga will not be hushed down so easily.
Indeed, for some reason, many people forget now that in addition to the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the escape of Yanukovych, there was another bloody act in Kyiv, including the shooting of protesters on Maidan.
Why doesn't anyone talk about it? Perhaps, Boshirov participated in this mission, too. After all, in Crimea, the Russians already had enough power to capture all the above-mentioned facilities. Yanukovych was taken out by his guards, who also didn’t really need Anatoly Chepiga. But he could have committed crimes at the Maidan.
That's because initially, Russian leadership considered two scenarios for the development of events on the Maidan: one was developed by the GRU and another – by the FSB. That is why we saw two high representatives of these structures in Kyiv before the shooting at the Maidan. There are two competitors who are now fighting for control over Donbas: Surkov and Beseda.
It is worth noting that “Moscow guests” who came at that time to “help stabilize the situation” did exactly the opposite. But, in addition to that “official” group, there were other groups in Ukraine — illegal groups, both of the FSB and the GRU, which, under various covers from journalists, such as Kotz and Steshin, acted on opposite sides of the barricades.
That is why there is a fairly high likelihood that Chepiga participated in this mission - the shooting at the Maidan. And this means a completely different crime and another charge. Moreover, such fact, if proven, could serve as a much more weighty argument proving that Russia from the beginning stood behind a series of crimes in Ukraine that ended in hostilities in Donbas, where the GRU and the FSB clashed again.
The same opinion is shared by the former head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Alexander Skipalsky. The detachment of the GRU colonel Anatoly Boshirov (Chepiga) could be in Kyiv during the Revolution of Dignity, and take an active part in the escalation of events at the Maidan. He stated this in an exclusive comment to Guildhall edition.
Read alsoUkraine prosecutors unable to confirm GRU operative "Boshirov" helped Yanukovych flee
“Theoretically, the detachment of Boshirov-Chepiga could be in Kyiv then (December 2013 - February 2014) and take part in the escalation and executions of people. Practically I cannot confirm it, because I did not take part in the research and study of documents. I know that on the base of the “Alpha” (a special unit of the SBU) more than 20 representatives of Russian Special Forces lived in a separate building, and no employees of the Ukrainian special services had access to that location. They could change attire to that of Berkut and uniforms without any insignia," Skipalsky said.
But that's not all. The most interesting thing is what happened to Petrov, the second poisoner of Mr Skripal. After all, nothing is now heard about him. There are only two options: either he has been liquidated or Russia decided to focus on a more valuable employee — Chepiga. And this is the essence of the Russian state: it does not protect performers of orders, it substitutes them.
In addition, some representatives of Russian foreign intelligence service, such as the head of the “International Anti-Bandera Movement”, Dmitry Yermolaev, are already beginning to promote the version that some “radical forces in Russia” (implying the GRU) are plotting a coup in the Russia.
And there is nothing surprising, because an anonymous source of the Investigation Management Center in the Russian military intelligence told about this earlier in a previous investigation about the war between the GRU and the FSB: "The leadership of the country is constantly whispered in the ear: "The GRU is preparing a military coup. At the same time, the entire responsibility for Syria and the fight against terrorism lies with us. It turns out that instead of successfully solving combat missions, we are fighting off the FSB”.
