The head of Chepyga and Myshkin participated in the Russia-Africa summit

The Russia-Africa summit was attended by Colonel-General Andrey Averyanov, a high-ranking employee of the Russian military intelligence (Main Directorate of the General Staff – GRU), who is suspected in a number of Western countries of organizing or directly participating in such GRU operations as the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury , an explosion at a warehouse in Vrbetice in the Czech Republic, the poisoning of Bulgarian arms dealer Emelyan Gebrev.

Bellingcat investigator Hristo Grozev drew attention to Averyanov’s presence at the negotiating table during the meeting of the delegations of Russia and Mali. Radio Svoboda and Bellingcat in the past released a number of investigations about Averyanov and his subordinates, among whom were the so-called Petrov and Boshirov (GRU officers Anatoly Chepyga and Alexander Myshkin).

At the meeting of Vladimir Putin and the Russian delegation with the leadership of Mali, where the pro-Russian military junta rules, the African representatives introduced themselves and named their positions. Then Putin asked members of the Russian delegation to introduce themselves. After the introduction of the ministers and other high-ranking officials, the General of the GRU introduced himself. “Andrei Averyanov, security,” he said.

“General Andrey Averyanov, head of covert aggressive operations of the GRU (poisoning with a “newcomer”, murders, explosions). I am confident that African leaders will appreciate his new geographical focus,” wrote Grozev. He noted that Averyanov personally participated in the sabotage in Vrbetice in 2014 (the Czech press reported on this, but no official charges were brought against him) and, as the chief of Chepyga and Myshkin, participated in the poisoning operations of Skripal and Gerbev. “Now he is rewarded by appearing in public next to Putin,” Grozev noted.

Averyanov was appointed commander of military unit 29155 in 2013. A number of journalistic investigations previously came to the conclusion that unit 29155 in Moscow’s Izmailovo district is a base for a unit specializing in operations in Europe. In the investigation of Radio Liberty, it was established that Chepyga was well acquainted with the unit commander Averyanov and was a guest at his daughter’s wedding.

Official Moscow denies Russia’s involvement in the poisoning of Skripal and Gebrev and the explosions in Vrbetitsa.