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Widow says Litvinenko grew disillusioned with Russia

Marina Litvinenko, the widow of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, arrives on the day she is due to give evidence at the inquiry into her husband's death at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. The body of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was so radioactive that his post-mortem was "one of the most dangerous" ever undertaken and the isotope that killed him so rare it would not have been discovered by a normal autopsy, a pathologist said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham) Marina Litvinenko, the widow of former Russian intelligence officer Alexander Litvinenko, arrives on the day she is due to give evidence at the inquiry into her husband's death at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, Feb. 2, 2015. The body of former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko was so radioactive that his post-mortem was "one of the most dangerous" ever undertaken and the isotope that killed him so rare it would not have been discovered by a normal autopsy, a pathologist said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

By Associated Press February 2, 2015 1 min read

LONDON (AP) – The widow of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko has described him as a loyal intelligence agent who grew disillusioned with Russia’s 1990s war in Chechnya.

Marina Litvinenko said a turning point came when her husband, working for the anti-terrorism unit of the FSB security service, interviewed a 17-year-old Chechen who told him his whole class had enlisted to fight Russia.

She said this was “the first time he realized something (was) wrong in this war.”

Marina Litvinenko testified Monday at an inquiry into the death of her husband, who fled to London in 2000 and became a strong critic of the Kremlin.

He died in November 2006 after being poisoned with radioactive polonium-210.

British police have identified two Russian men as the prime suspects, but Moscow refuses to extradite them.