UNDERCOVER

surprise to those who have been warning for years of the threat the current Russian administration and its secret state now poses, and the lengths they are willing to go to to eliminate opponents, with reckless disregard for the law, and ordinary civilians, whether in Ukraine, Georgia or Salisbury.”

Chepiga, 39, who has served in Chechnya and Ukraine, is a veteran of the elite special forces unit Spetsnaz. That is under the command of the feared GRU.

He has been fighting for 17 years and working undercover for at least nine, investigative journalism organisation Bellingcat and the Daily Telegraph claim.

He has been handed more than 20 awards, as well as the Hero medal.

Unlike most of other recipients, few details are available about why he was honoured. They are normally awarded by Putin personally and are only given to a handful of people each year.

Chepiga studied at the Far-eastern Military Command Academy. Its website lists all past students who have received the award, with a detailed citation. According to Bellingcat, it says: “Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation by order of the president of the Russian Federation.”

Bellingcat suggested the 2014 award may have been given for service in Ukraine, where Putin’s troops are accused of backing pro-moscow rebels fighting government forces.

He got it after Russia’s war with Chechnya but before the Kremlin burst into Syria’s brutal conflict in 2015.

Russia has denied involvement in the Ukraine, which may explain the secrecy surrounding Chepiga’s award.

But a veterans’ group wrote on its website: “You can become a hero even in our seemingly peaceful times.

“Anatoliy Vladimirovich Chepiga was deployed to Chechnya three times and has more than 20 awards and medals. In December 2014, Colonel Chepiga was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for carrying out a peacekeeping mission.”

After Boshirov and Petrov were filmed in Salisbury, the pair were ordered by the Kremlin to take part in a TV interview to deny they were hitmen. They claimed they worked in the fitness industry and their only reason for visiting the UK was to see the historic sites of “wonderful” Salisbury.

Mum Dawn Sturgess, 44, died after the Skripal attack when she sprayed herself with novichok discarded in a perfume bottle.

Her boyfriend Charlie Rowley, 45, was left seriously ill. No10 and the Met Police refused to comment last night.