Ex-Soviet spy-hunter who is one of two living defectors from the GRU says he is living under TWO death sentences after attempted murder of Sergei Skripal earlier this year
- Viktor Suvorov was recruited by GRU in 1970 before he became disillusioned
- After defecting the Moscow spy agency Suvorov has not returned to the country
- Suvorov has written books giving the details on the inner workings of the GRU
A former Soviet military intelligence officer has spoken out about living life under two death sentences in an interview with The Guardian.
Viktor Suvorov, 71, worked for Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, for eight years before he decided to defect the Moscow based spy agency.
Once highly regarded within the world of Russian intelligence, the former spy also spent four years seeking out foreign agents in Switzerland.
He and former Russian spy Sergei Skripal are believed to be the only known living people to have defected the Russian spy agency.
Former Soviet military intelligence officer Viktor Suvorov, 71, has spoken about life under a death sentence in an interview with The Guardian
After being recruited by the GRU in 1970, Suvorov soon became disillusioned by the Soviet system.
Since defecting Suvorov has not returned to the country and does not believe he will ever be forgiven.
He told The Guardian: ‘I have two death sentences [from the GRU and the Soviet supreme court].
‘You can’t imagine how relaxing this can be.
‘You don’t worry about money or headaches or getting ill. You think to yourself: “It doesn’t matter! I’m dead!”‘
Suspects Ruslan Boshirov (left), and Alexander Petrov (right) attended an interview with the channel RT following the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury
Upon arriving to the UK the former Russian spy decided to earn his own living by becoming a writer.
He has since written 19 books on the history of the Second World War and on the inner workings of the GRU.
Speaking on the plot to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, Suvorov added that there may well have been a small circle of people from the Russian embassy in London who were able to provide logistical support without knowing the full details.
Now living in the UK, Suvorov said there is still a possibility the agency could attempt to end his life.