Mystery of novichok victim’s vanished boyfriend
Claims Yulia’s ‘honeytrap’ is aided by FSB
THE boyfriend of novichok victim Yulia Skripal has vanished and has not been seen since the poisoning murder plot three years ago, a friend of his has claimed.
They say that Yulia, 36, and Stepan Vikeev were planning to marry and raise a family before she was poisoned with her dad Sergei, 69, in Salisbury in 2018.
His dramatic disappearance has led to allegations that he was working for the Russian secret services and was involved in the entire mission from the start. Investigative journalists in Russia have found absolutely no trace of him.
It is understood Stepan worked for a clandestine organisation called the Institute of Modern Security Problems.
His mother Tatiana was head of the unit, believed to be “an integral part” of the FSB – which replaced the notorious Russian KGB secret service.
One friend said: “No one has seen him. He has vanished off the face of the earth. There are two schools of thought – the first was that he was a “honeytrap” involved with the Russian authorities right from the very start. Therefore he is now being protected by the FSB in a safe house where no one will find him.
“Or has his mother, who is very wealthy, whisked him away?
“There are more questions than answers on him and their relationship.
TREACHEROUS
“I know his mother didn’t like him dating the daughter of Sergei Skripal.
“It was well known she was the daughter of a treacherous spy. She was openly hostile to Yulia.”
Sergei and Yulia were left fighting for their lives after his front door handle was smeared with nerve agent novichok three years ago today.
They were found unconscious on a bench in Salisbury town centre.
Days later it emerged that Wiltshire Police’s Det Sgt Nick Bailey was seriously ill in hospital. He has now retired but has said his life would “never be the same again”.
In June Dawn Sturgess, 44, and partner Charlie Rowley fell ill at a flat eight miles away. On July 8 mum-of-three Dawn died and it emerged that she had sprayed a discarded perfume bottle used to contain the agent.
As Stepan remained missing, Sergei’s niece spoke again to the Mirror after we first visited at her flat in Russia in 2018. She demanded British authorities prove that her uncle is alive and well.
Viktoria Skripal said the family believes “Sergei is no longer alive”. Viktoria says the fact he did not get in touch when his mum Yelena died shows he must be dead.
“He didn’t even send flowers for his mother’s funeral in January,” she said.
Viktoria, 48, who lives in Yaroslavl, added: “We had expected a reaction from her son when she died. This situation makes us think that Sergei is no longer alive. Because only a dead person does not try to be with his mother on her last journey.” She also claimed that the British government is putting in “a lot of effort to assure the world that Sergei is alive”. She added: “If the British say Vladimir Putin poisoned Sergei – show Sergei to the world and let him say this ‘I was poisoned’. Why do Sergei and Yulia not sue Russia if this country poisoned them?”
When Yulia called last autumn she assured Viktoria that her father was alive but lived with a nurse because he needed roundthe-clock medical care.
The Skripals’ top secret relocation deal may end up costing British taxpayers as much as €5million. A unit
VICTIM Dawn Sturgess, 44 within MI5 which deals with the relocation and handling of long-term intelligence assets such as Skripal will have secured the funds from the UK’S Treasury Department.
The budget will pay for new homes, a pension for Sergei and possible retraining for Yulia in her career and everyday expenses while they resettle.
Sources said “less than a dozen” people in the Security Service, Cabinet Office and the Treasury would be aware of their whereabouts.
The Irish Daily Mirror has been told the pair could still remain in the UK, because of Sergei’s ongoing health issues, although if they have not moved already they are likely to.
Their most likely destination would be one of the four “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing countries, Canada, America, Australia or New Zealand.
One source said: “America would be a good option: it has a decent security structure and the political will to react if Russia tries again to kill them.”
Bruce Jones, a British expert on Russia’s intelligence, said: “He needs local care facilities, possibly a carer and Yulia will want to follow her career in marketing, with a city nearby.
“It is unlikely therefore that she will be co-located with her father but they will remain relatively near each other.”