Novichok poisoning suspects will be 'given job promotions and treated as heroes' in Russia, Vladimir Putin expert claims

James Morris6 September 2018

Dawn Sturgess’s suspected killers are likely to be hailed as heroes in Russia and rewarded by Vladimir Putin, an expert has claimed.

Dr Yuri Felshtinsky said the careers of Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov will be “advanced” in their homeland following their alleged role in the Novichok poisonings.

Petrov and Bosirov, believed to be alias names, were charged with carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent attacks on ex-spy Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia in March.

It is believed to have led to the death of Ms Sturgess in July, after she was exposed to a perfume bottle which contained a “significant” amount of of Novichok. Prime Minister Theresa May said Petrov and Bosirov are members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.

A Met Police CCTV still of suspects Ruslan Boshirov and Alexander Petrov in Salisbury in March
Met Police

The pair fled back to Russia on the night of the Salisbury attack. But Dr Felshtinsky, author of The Putin Corporation, claimed their future prospects are bright.

“Even though they botched their covert attack on Sergei Skripal,” he said, “and are now publicly named, President Putin will praise the two members of the GRU and reward them in ways that will advance their career – promoting them as heroes now that their cover is blown.

“In the case of the GRU, the death of innocent bystanders is foreseen as an accepted risk, as was the case with the first use of Novichok against Ivan Kivilidi in 1995, when not only he but also his secretary died in Moscow from the poison on the receiver of his office phone.”

Dr Felshtinsky concluded: “For the GRU, a campaign in Britain is no different from the military campaign in Syria where civilians get killed.”

Andrey Lugovoi, the ex-KGB agent who Britain says murdered Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006, was given a state medal by Mr Putin in 2015. He became an MP in Russia a year after Mr Litvinenko’s killing. Mr Lugovoi denies wrongdoing.

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