Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov (pictured), two Russian citizens sought by the British authorities for the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergey Skripal, denied any involvement in the attack in an interview to RT's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, aired on Thursday.
The two confirmed their identities and stated that they visited the British city of Salisbury, as the investigation found, and claimed that the purpose of their visit was to see the Stonehenge and other local landmarks, but couldn't do so because of "muddy slush everywhere." The time spent in the city itself they explained with "lags between trains" and claimed that they didn't know the location of the house of Sergey Skripal, which they allegedly passed. When asked by the interviewer why they seem so nervous, the two said their lives are "turned upside down" due to the media frenzy, and they now fear for themselves and their loved ones.
UK authorities said earlier they have found "sufficient evidence" that the two Russian citizens belong to Russian military intelligence, sometimes abbreviated as GRU, and released footage of their visit to the area around the crime scene. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the two suspects are innocent civilians, and called on them to talk to the media and address the accusations.
