Two Russians charged with poisoning spy in Britain

British prosecutors on Wednesday charged two Russian men in absentia for poisoning former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March in Salisbury, England. The Crown Prosecution Service accused Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and of using the Novichok nerve agent.

Police said the men flew into London from Moscow with Russian passports a day before the Skripals’ poisoning. The pair flew back to Moscow from Heathrow Airport on the evening of March 4, hours after authorities found the Skripals collapsed on a bench in a Salisbury park. Britain issued a European arrest warrant for the suspects since Russian law forbids the extradition of its citizens.

Police believe the suspects smuggled the nerve agent inside a fake perfume bottle and applied it on the door of Skripals’ home. Amesbury resident Charlie Rowley found the bottle in a park in June. Rowley was hospitalized, and his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, died after they were both exposed to the agent.

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on Tuesday said its tests confirmed that the same “toxic chemical” poisoned the Skripals, Rowley, and Sturgess. Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility for the attack. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the names of the suspects “say nothing to us” and called on Britain to cooperate with Russian law enforcement agencies.