bellingcat says two are doctors.vestigation was based on information that belling had got and it's information that belling had got and its partners who got from russian databases which were got from the black market. —— bellingcat got from its partners. you have to get this information and crosscheck it. the amount of data presented by bellingcat and its partners is quite sufficient and it gives you food for thought. they presented meta data from cell phones, and shows that there are around eight people who seem to be involved with the russian security service, and they were following his troops around russia for the past four years. the kremlin hadn't responded. but russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov was asked about the story during a trip to the czech republic. translation: all this news is funny to read. but the manner in which the news is presented says only one thing, that our western partners lack any ethical standards. it shows a lack of skills for normal diplomatic work, and an unwillingness to comply w

division of the russian intelligence service, the fsb, according to the investigative news site bellingcatch analyzed over 100,000 phone and internet connections, some bought on the black market christo grozev is a lead researcher. >> the thing tha totally shocked me was that russia maintains a murder machine within the downtown moscow that employs 30 people who are trained medics plus trained chemists plus trained muscle. >> reporter: author adrei soldatov is one of the world's leading experts on russian intelligence what do you make of these claims, these accusations by bellingcat are they credible? >> yes i think they are actually very credible. >> reporter: a spokesman for the kremlin once again denied involvement in navalny's poisonin and that it maintains a special chemical weapons hit team but experts say today's report could set back russia's activities by forcing the kremlin to do damage control. lester >> all right richard, thanks. >>> we're watching for a major winter storm that could be the strongest in years to hit the northeast al roker is tracking it al, what can we expect a

according to bellingcat, the security cameras inside the hotel were mysteriously turned out while they were there. the wife took photos and videos of men she believed were following them. this man i also don't recognize, she says. hours after the fsb's toxin team left ka lynn grad, he felt sick. >> i feel really, really bad. do we need ambulance? no. is it heart? no. is it stomach? no. is it head? no. could you describe it? no. then we approach restaurant and she said, well, i feel like worse in my life. i never felt it before, but, unfortunately, of course, i couldn't connect these dots. now i realize how bad she was. >> reporter: his wife recovered but the fsb unit was apparently not done with the navalny's. >> in regular contact with a lab in this compound, it's called the signal institute and cnn and bellingcat have established that it's been involved with researching and developing. they raffled to siberia, at least five members of the fsb unit make the same journey on different flights, navalany and his colleagues stay at the hotel, we went to the city to retrace his steps on the

the documents were obtained by online investigative outlet bellingcat, which two years ago identifiedy intelligence agents allegedly sent to england to poison former russian spy sergei skripal. the fsb toxin the team was activated in 2017, just days after knnavalny announceds he would run for president in the election the next year. and the team's leader, an expert in chemical weapons. several of the team are doctors, but they were recruited to save lives. i just want to show you some photographs here and ask you if you recognize, if you've ever seen any of the men in those photographs? >> no. >> you don't recognize them? >> i don't recognize any of them. >> would it surprise you to learn that some of these men went on more than 30 trips with you over the course of three years? >> that is absolutely terrifying. i don't know. it's terrifying. is a good word. >> i think it's a pretty good word. >> yes, but -- well, i understand how systems work in russia. i understand that putin hates me, and i understand that these people who are sitting in the kremlin, they are ready to kill. >> is it

with the help of the bellingcat investigative website, who had identified some of the team which hadty official investigating the poisoning operation and says he got a full confession. here's a little excerpt from the phone call. translation: what was the main focus? what is the riskiest piece of clothing in theory? underpants. underpants. yes, they poisoned his underpants. a little earlier my colleague lucy hockings spoke to christo grozev, the lead investigator of bellingcat, who sat next to alexei navalny during this phone conversation. it was definitely the most incredible thing anybody can live through. what added to the surrealism was that i had not slept the whole night, working on the final touches to the investigative report that we would publish later that day. so at 4:30am this phone call took place and i do not think alexei navalny had slept much. it was all in slow motion and i thought i was dreaming and this could not be happening. who did you decide to call? well, actually the original plan had been to only confront the actual suspected poisoners for navalny to call th

, russian president vladimir putin is responding today to an exclusive investigation by cnn and bellingcatlast summer's poisoning of russian opposition leader alexey navalny. it uncovered evidence that an elite russian intelligence team specializing in nerve agents trailed navalny for years. putin today claimed if russian special services had wanted to kill the opposition leader, they would have, quote, finished it. >> in this case, of course, the special services should keep an eye on him. but it doesn't mean that he needs to be posseisoned. if they wanted to, they probably would have followed it through. >> all right. joining me is cnn's chief international correspondent clarissa ward. it was an extraordinary response from vladimir putin. tell us more about how he and other key russian officials are responding to this exclusive reporting. >> well, first of all, it's important to point out that there was absolutely no response for almost 36 hours, and then finally today, we hear from the president himself. and essentially he's not really denying the core facts of our story. he's not denyi

what do you make of these claims, these accusations by bellingcat? are they credible? >> well, i think they are actually quite credible. >> a spokesman for the kremlin once again denied involvement in navalny's poisoning, but experts say today's reporting naming names could set back russian activities by forcing the kremlin to do damage control. richard engel, nbc news, london. >>> and coming up for us, he wasn't a man of medicine. he had no patients. yet we'd never dream of calling dr. king anything but dr. king. there's a lesson in this stemming from something that happened over this past weekend. we'll have the story for you after this. the future of heart failure. understanding how to talk to your doctor about treatment options is key. today, we are redefining how we do things. we find new ways of speaking, so you're never out of touch. it's seeing someone's face that comforts us, no matter where. when those around us know us, they can show us just how much they care. the first steps of checking in, the smallest moments can end up being everything. there's resource

christine. >> yeah, fred, it is just amazing all of that reporting that cnn and bellingcat have done.ould encourage our viewers to go back and just spend some time reading through that amazing reporting. it has just been quite a story there. thanks, fred. >> yeah. >>> in georgia, a federal judge is blocking two counties' attempts to remove voters from the rolls ahead of the january 5th runoff elections. the vast majority were in mus, e the judge is the center of former gubernatorial candidate of stacey abrams, she found the attempts would likely violate the national voter registration act. >>> the columbus, ohio, police officer who killed an unarmed black man last week has been fired. body camera footage showed the officer adam coy shoot andre hill just seconds into their encounter. hill was holding a cell phone as he walked toward the officer. the police chief said coy failed to deescalate the situation and render aid to the victim. state investigators are looking into possible criminal charges. >>> nearly 200,000 ceiling fans are being recalled because the blades can detach and fly

investigative journalists at bellingcat and russian news site, the insider, have now published a reporte fsb — the state intelligence organisation — in the incident. negotiators from the eu and uk have continued the intensive discussions in brussels on reaching a brexit deal. the president of the european commission — ursula von der leyen has welcomed what she described as ‘movement‘ in talks between both sides on a trade agreement. but the british side says the talks ‘remain difficult' and that the two sides have not made ‘significant progress in recent days'. stay with us on bbc news, still to come: we look at the us senate race in georgia which will decide which party controls the senate. saddam hussein is finished because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but it brought a formal end to three and a half year conflict. conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders presidents of bosnia, serbia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. r

. >> investigation by the group bellingcat and cnn has uncovered evidence that russia's security servicermed an elite team specializing in nerve agents that followed and trailed opposition leader alexei navalny for years. >> so we're here now at the home of one of the f.s.b. team, and we're going to see if he has anything to say to us. we enter a rundown apartment building on the outskirts of moscow, where operative oleg tayakin lives. ( speaking russian ) my name is clarissa ward. i work for cnn. can i ask you a couple of questions? ( speaking russian ) was it your team that poisoned navalny, please? do you have any comment? he doesn't seem to want to talk to us. >> trevor: whoo! this reporter is the most stone- cold gangster i've ever seen, and not just because she's in a russian winter with no hat or gloves. she's tracked down a russian assassin people, assassin. "sir? sir? if you won't answer me, is there another assassin i can speak to?" this is the kind of reporting cnn needs to do more of! i don't want to see chris cuomo interviewing ten people in a box. i want to see chris cuomo

he thinks russian authorities are embarrassed after a cnn and bellingcat investigation found out large parts of that alleged plot to kill alexey navalny, and of course he was able to contact one of the agents that was allegedly part of the plots and dupe that agent into admitting large parts of it. like i said, somewhere there is vladimir putin in his bunker stomping and yelling why didn't he d die. if he didn't die, he is twice guilty and we will jail him. russian authorities say they were not behind the poisoning of alexey navalny. navalny has continuously said he wants to return to russia. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >>> public health officials are raising the alarm over the high level of covid-19 infection in england, bringing the latest from london in a live report up next. >>> and the democrats in georgia are gaining on republican ad spending. will they need more help as they try to win two key senate seats next week. we'll bring you both of those stories after a short break. you are watching cnn. technology, sh q quantu cleansns without pre-rinsing. switch to finish and skip the

at a number of outlets, including cnn and der spiegel, as well as the online investigativwebsite bellingcat officials with the trump administration are acknowledging the email systems of the pentagon, state department, and the department of homeland security were all compromised in a major cyberattack that also targeted the treasury and commerce department, as well as nuclear laboratories and some fortune 500 companies. the national security council held an emergency meeting monday to discuss what has been described as the biggest breach of u.s. government data in years. the hackers allegedly inserted malicious software into any .pdate for network management 300,000 customers worldwide. the trump administration has not identified who was behind the attack, but multiple news agencies suggest it was the work of hacking groups backed by the russian government. the news comes at a time when the government's cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency is without a director. president trump fired the agency's director chris krebs in november for claiming the election was the "most secure in

he thinks russian authorities are embarrassed after a cnn and bellingcat investigation found out largearts of that alleged plot to kill alexei navalny and of course he was also able to contact one of the agents who was allegedly part of that plot and dupe that agent into admitting large parts of it. alexei navalny on his instagram account said, quote, like i said, somewhere there is vladimir putin in his bunker stomping and yelling why didn't he die? and if he didn't die, then he is twice guilty, and now we will jail him. the russian authorities have of course continued to say that they were not behind the poisoning of alexei navalny. navalny, for his part, has continuously said he wants to return to russia. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >>> a long-ti. >> i asked him is santa going to bring you anything good for christmas? and he smiled and he said -- >> the bomber's chilling response, when we return. >>> plus, covid-19 continues to devastate the united states. now vaccines may take much longer to get to the masses after a rocky roll-out. we'll bring you both of those stories after a ver

what do you make of these claims, these accusations by bellingcat?ent in navalny's poisoning, but experts say today's reporting naming names could setback russian activities by forcing the kremlin to do damage control. richard engel, nbc news, london. >>> and coming up for us, he wasn't a man of medicine. he had no patients. yet we'd never dream of calling dr. king anything but dr. king. there's a lesson in this stemming from something that happened over this past weekend. we'll have the story for you after this. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa for people with heart failure taking entresto, it may lead to a world of possibilities. entresto is a heart failure medicine prescribed by most cardiologists. it was proven superior at helping people stay alive and out of the hospital. heart failure can change the structure of your heart so it may not work as well. entresto helps improve your heart's ability to pump blood to the body. and with a healthier heart, there's no telling where life may take you. don't take entresto if pregnant; it can

the cnn team and bellingcat, i cannot imagine what it must be like to have vladimir putin respond to your reporting saying, in part, that as we just heard, if russia had wanted to kill navalny, it would have finished the job. what do you make of that? >> well, i mean, it's certainly pretty chilling words but it's important for our viewers to remember that alexey navalny would be dead if it hadn't been for the pilot who on that flight from tomsk to moscow made the decision just one hour in to divert the flight and land in the city of omsk. he was supposed to be on that plane another three hours. and we've spoken to many toxicologists, all of them agree he never would have made it had it not been for that pilot. now the reason that vladimir putin is saying this is that, of course he would be followed, putin said, because he was working, navalny this is, with u.s. intelligence services. and if someone is >> these weren't just ordinary thugs. these were doctors, toxiologists, chemists who understood about how nerve agents work and not only that, who have been in regular contact during sp

you watched "new day" yesterday, you saw clarissa ward's extraordinary investigation along with bellingcatnation attempt in russia. well, this morning, the kremlin just responded. cnn's exclusive investigation uncovered evidence that russia's security service, the fsb, formed an elite team, specializing in nerve agents that trailed opposition leader alexei navalny for years. navalny was poisoned with novichok in august and nearly died. cnn's chief international correspondent, clarissa ward joins us now with all of the breaking details. what's happened in the past 24 hours, clarissa? >> reporter: hi, alisyn. well, it had been absolute radio silence. two days and not a word from the kremlin, not a word from security services. now we're starting to get the first samplings of what kind of reaction we might expect. and essentially, it's sarcastic. sergey lavrov, the foreign minister of russia, talking to journalists in croatia, saying that the report was, quote, funny to me. also saying, "we're used to this coming from the west," implying that it was unethical and possibly in contravention of i

silence, russian president vladimir putin responded to cnn's exclusive investigation along with bellingcatnn's exclusive investigation found evidence that the fsb formed an elite team, specializing in nerve agents that trailed opposition leader alexei navalny for years. navalny was poisoned with novichok in august and nearly died. cnn's clarissa ward who broke this story is live in moscow where putin is still speaking. and clarissa, kind of chest thumping in defiance over this report. >> yeah, i mean, it's always difficult when president putin gives an answer, it's invariably long winded and you have to spend at least 10 to 20 minutes translating it into english and translating it in your brain to try to figure out what he's exactly saying. but the grist of it is that he's not refuting any elements really, of our report, except for the actual poisoning. so what he said was, essentially, that alexei navalny, although he doesn't say his name, that alexei navalny is apparently in cahoots or working with u.s. intelligence agencies. and as a result of that, it's normal, essentially, that the fs

kudryavtsev was one of an elite team who trailed navalny for years as cnn and online investigative outlet bellingcatnit was headquartered in this unassuming building in a nas could you suburb. most of its members were doctors or scientists. kudryavtsev graduated from the russian academy of chemical defense. when navalny was poisoned back in august his flight was suddenly diverted to oms k. fight days later kudryavtsev flew to that same city, taking possession of navalny's clothes. on the 45-minute call with navalny he offers an assurance that no trace of novichok would be found on them. >> translator: yes, all is clean. visually it will not be visible. they did not remove, there are no stains on them, no? no. no. nothing. they are in good condition and clean. >> translator: pants? >> translator: there is the same inside area, perhaps something was left on it, too. we washed it off there also, but this is presumably because there is contact with the pants. perhaps there was something on there, too. >> reporter: the fsb toxins team trailed navalny on more than 30 trips around russia. five of its membe

the documents were obtained by online investigative outlet bellingcat, which two years ago identifiedan intelligence agents sent to england to former russian spy sergei skripal. the toxins team was activated in 2017 days after navalny announced he would run for president in the election the next year. the team's leader, stanislas makshakov, an expert in chemical weapons. several of the team are doctors but they weren't recruited to save lives. i just wanted to show you some photographs here, and ask you if you recognize, if you've ever seen any of the men in those photographs. >> no. >> reporter: you don't recognize them? >> i don't recognize any of them. >> reporter: would it surprise you to learn that some of these men went on more than 30 trips with you >> this is absolutely terrifying. i don't know if terrifying is a good word. >> reporter: i think it's a pretty good word. >> yes, but the -- well, i understand how system work in russia. i understand that the -- that putin hates me. and i understand that these people who are sitting in the kremlin, they are ready to kill. >> is it

was one of an elite team who trailed navalny for years, as cnn and online investigative outlet bellingcatk. the unit was headquartered in this unassuming building in a moscow suburb. most of its members were doctors or scientists. kudryavtsev graduated from the russian academy of chemical defense. when navalny was poisoned back in august, his flight was suddenly diverted to umsk. flight records show that just five days later, kudryavtsev flew to that same city, taking possession of navalny's clothes. on the 45-minute call with navalny, he offers an assurance that no trace of novichok would be found on them. >> translator: yes, all is clean. >> translator: visually it will not be visible. they did not remove. there are no stains on them, nothing? >> translator: no, no, nothing. they're in good condition and clean. >> translator: pants? >> translator: there's the same inside area, perhaps something was left on it too. we washed it off there also but this is presumably because there is contact with the pants. perhaps there was something on there too. >> reporter: the fsb toxins team trailed

he was also asked about an investigation that the website bellingcat published earlier this week.he russian state intelligence organisation tailed alexei navalny for three years. the kremlin had already dismissed the investigation as "entertaining". and here's more from mr putin today. it's a trick to attack the leaders of russia, and by doing so, those that do it reach a certain level and proclaim it, "pay attention." it means i am the person of the same calibre. here's a reminder of what happened to alexei navalny in august. you can see him on a stretcher — after he was poisoned with the nerve agent novichok whilst boarding a flight in siberia. before that he'd been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for leading anti—government protests. these pictures are from a rally in moscow last year. max seddon, is the financial times moscow correspondent, he was watching todays press conference closely. max, your take on mr putin's response? well, i think it was pretty remarkable that we have to wait three days after this investigation came out, the president's press secretary even cancel

cnn along with the investigative group bellingcat have uncovered evidence that an elite team specializingnavalny's moves for years. he was poisoned with a lethal toxin in august and nearly died. clarissa ward and her team have been working the story for months. her stunning report first aired on monday and finally two days later, there's some reaction from russia. those details in a moment. first, here's part of clarissa's exclusive report. take a look as she attempts to confront one of the men accused of being at the heart of the assassination attempt. >> reporter: we're here now at the home of one of the fsb team, and we're going to see if he has anything to say to us. we enter a rundown apartment building on the outskirts of moscow, where the operative lives. [ speaking foreign language ] my name is clarissa ward. i work for cnn. can i ask you a couple of questions? [ speaking foreign language ] was it your team that poisoned navalny, please? do you have any comment? he doesn't seem to want to talk to us. >> clarissa ward joins me tonight from moscow. clarissa, this reporting is just e