Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May
Britain has concluded that the two men charged on Wednesday for the attempted murder of a former spy and his daughter with a nerve agent were Russian military intelligence officers almost certainly acting with senior-level state approval.
"Based on the body of intelligence, the government has concluded that the two individuals named by the police and the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) are officers from the Russian military intelligence service also known as the GRU," May told parliament.
"This was also not a rogue operation. It was almost certainly approved outside the GRU, at a senior level of the Russian state."
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said on Wednesday that it was hard to understand what Britain was trying to signal to Moscow by naming two men it suspected of poisoning former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.British prosecutors on Wednesday charged two Russians for the attempted murder of the Skripals with a nerve agent, naming suspects for the first time in a case that has caused one of the biggest East-West rifts in decades."We have heard or seen two names, these names mean nothing to me personally," Ushakov told reporters in Moscow."Especially since Scotland Yard has said these names were apparently aliases. I don't understand why this was done and what sort of signal the British side is sending. It is difficult to understand." UK names two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals
Kremlin says puzzled by UK's decision to name Skripal case suspects
Russia must rein in "outrageous" Russian GRU
Russia must rein in the activities of its military intelligence officers and account for their actions, May said.
"We want Russia to act as a responsible member of the international community. That means it must account for the reckless and outrageous actions of the GRU, which is part of the Russian state," May told parliament.
"They must rein in the activities of the GRU."
British prosecutors on Wednesday identified two Russians who they accused of trying to murder former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia with a military-grade nerve agent in England.Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of agents to Britain's MI6 foreign spy service, and his daughter Yulia, were found unconscious on a public bench in the southern city of Salisbury on March 4.Britain has blamed Russia for the poisonings and identified the poison as Novichok, a deadly group of nerve agents developed by the Soviet military in the 1970s and 1980s. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attack.British prosecutors named the two suspects as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who police said arrived in Britain from Moscow on March 2 at London's Gatwick airport on an Aeroflot flight and left on March 4. Police released images of the two men.Russia condemns US sanctions over Salisbury poisoningNeil Basu, Head of UK Counter Terrorism policing, said the two suspects were travelling under aliases but were around 40 years old and had genuine Russian passports."We would like to hear from anyone who knows them," Basu said. Russia's foreign ministry said the names given by Britain did not mean anything to them.Basu said Novichok was sprayed on the front door of Skripal's house in Salisbury, where the two men were sighted on CCTV nearby. Basu said traces of Novichok contamination were found in the London hotel room where the two men had stayed."Tests were carried out in the hotel room where the suspects had stayed. Two swabs showed contamination of Novichok of levels below that which would cause concern for public health," Basu said.'West acting as judge and executioner in Skripal case': RussiaNOVICHOK PERFUMEA European arrest warrant has been issued for the two Russians, the prosecutors said.The Russians are charged with conspiracy to murder Sergei Skripal and the attempted murder of Skripal, his daughter and Nick Bailey, a police officer who was taken ill while attending to the Skripals.They are also charged with use and possession of Novichok, contrary to the Chemical Weapons Act.“We will not be applying to Russia for the extradition of these men as the Russian constitution does not permit extradition of its own nationals," said Sue Hemming, director of Legal Services at the Crown Prosecution Service.A British woman, Dawn Sturgess, died in July after coming across a small bottle containing Novichok near Salisbury where the Skripals were struck down. Her partner, Charlie Rowley, was also stricken.Police said Rowley and Sturgess had found a counterfeit Nina Ricci Premier Jour perfume bottle which tests later showed had contained Novichok. 
UK names two Russians for attempted murder of Skripals