Vladimir Putin honoured the man Scotland Yard believes poisoned dissident Alexander Litvinenko ( pictured ) with polonium in London . Vladimir Putin yesterday honoured the man Scotland Yard believes poisoned dissident Alexander Litvinenko with polonium in London . Andrey Lugovoy , 48 , was given a medal for 'services to the motherland ' as the UK holds a public inquiry into the 2006 killing of Mr Litvinenko . Putin had blocked the extradition of Lugovoy , a former secret-service operative who is now an MP with the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party . The Russian president also gave the Order of Honour to Ramzan Kadyrov , the leader of Chechnya . The award came as Kadyrov admitted knowing the man who has confessed to killing Putin critic Boris Nemtsov in Moscow . Kadyrov appeared to defend the suspect Zaur Dadayev by calling him a 'true patriot ' and a 'deeply religious man ' . Opposition politician Ilya Yashin said Putin was sending a signal : 'These are my people , do not touch them . ' Kadyrov received his state award for 'work achievements , strenuous social activities and long conscientious service ' , but it comes amid claims that even some senior Russian officials are worried about the sway held by the Chechen . Lugovoy holds the post of deputy chairman of the Russian parliament 's security and anti-corruption committee . He is chief suspect in the murder of former secret agent Mr Litvinenko , who from his death bed accused Putin of ordering his killing . Putin revealed yesterday that he held an all-night conclave of his defence and secret services cardinals ahead of his order last year to restore Crimea to Russia . In a trailer for a new TV documentary , he admitted calling his security chiefs to the Kremlin for a secret meeting to order them to save the life of deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych . Andrey Lugovoy ( pictured ) , 48 , was given a medal for 'services to the motherland ' as the UK holds a public inquiry into the 2006 killing of Mr Litvinenko . The Russians allege the West was complicit in the toppling of pro-Moscow Yanukovych so threatening Russia 's national security . ' I invited the leaders of our special services and the defence ministry to the Kremlin and set them the task of saving the life of the president of Ukraine , who would simply have been liquidated , ' said Putin . 'We finished about seven in the morning . When we were parting , I told all my colleagues , `` We are forced to begin the work to bring Crimea back into Russia '' . '
Russia honours the man believed to have poisoned Alexander Litvinenko . Putin gave Andrey Lugovoy a medal for his 'services to the motherland ' Lugovoy is believed to have poisoned dissident with polonium in London .