Boyfriend of Salisbury poisoning victim Yulia Skripal hasn’t been seen for three years amid fears he was a ‘honeytrap’
THE boyfriend of Salisbury poisoning victim Yulia Skripal hasn't been seen for three years - amid fears he was a "honeytrap".
Stepan Vikeev disappeared after his girlfriend Ms Skripal, 35, and her father, double agent Sergei Skripal, 68, were poisoned in March 2018.
An insider claimed that it was feared he had been a honeytrap, or that he had been whisked away by his mum.
The Skripals were poisoned with the killer Russian nerve agent novichok in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
Mr Vikeev, 32, and Ms Skripal were reportedly planning to get married before she was poisoned.
However, he hasn't been seen since she was targeted.
A friend told the : "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?"
The friend said the Mr Vikeev's mum did not like his relationship with Ms Skripal because of her "traitor" dad.
Moscow security sources claimed Mr Vikeev worked for a secretive Russian company which was run by his mum Tatiana.
Tatiana is said to be an "integral" member of the FSB, the group which replaced the KGB when the Soviet Union fell.
It is unclear what exactly sparked Mr Vikeev's disappearance.
POISONING BUNGLE
Four months after the Skripals were poisoned, Charlie Rowley, 45, and Dawn Sturgess, 44, were rushed to Salisbury Hospital after they were found unconscious at a home in Amesbury, Wilts on June 30, 2018.
Scotland Yard later confirmed Dawn Sturgess had died and police launched a murder probe.
Rowley regained consciousness and has since been released from hospital, although he later fell ill again.
On July 11 police recovered a bottle of Novichok from the Amesbury flat.
It is believed the couple picked up a perfume bottle that may have been discarded by the bungling assassins who tried to kill the Skri
Dawn may have been exposed to ten times the dose of nerve agent received by the Skripals.
In August 2018, Charlie was rushed to intensive care after going blind - but his illness is not believed to be an effect of Novichok.
In September police revealed names and photos of two Russian men wanted over the attempted hit on the Skripals.
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Cops issued a European Arrest Warrant for Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov.
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The CPS said there was enough evidence to charge them with conspiracy to murder.
The suspects were caught on CCTV in Salisbury at 11.58am on Sunday, March 4, “moments before the attack”, police said.
What has happened since the poisoning?
Dawn Sturgess's bereft boyfriend and fellow poison victim, Charlie Rowley has revealed he plans to sue Russia for £1million over his girlfriend's death.
Rowley – who lost his girlfriend Dawn Sturgess and was in a coma for two weeks – has hired top injury lawyer Patrick Maguire.
He told "This has affected my life in a huge way. I want justice."
Rowley's lawyer has previously represented victims of the 2017 London Bridge and Westminster terror attacks, and is proposing suing the Russian government "among other options."
The third Russian agent implicated in the Salisbury nerve agent attack has been linked to the poisoning of up to three people in Bulgaria.
He was identified as a 45-year-old Russian travelling under the alias Sergey Vyacheslavovich Fedotov.
Fedotov is a senior GRU officer who was in the UK at the time of the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal in March.
