Novichok Poisoning House Gets New Residents
In a remarkable turn of events, a family has decided to call the Salisbury house their home, the very place where the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the deadly Novichok nerve agent five years ago.
This surprising decision follows years of infamy and a significant cleanup effort to make the property habitable.
A Shared-Ownership Deal
The house in question was acquired through a shared-ownership arrangement, with a price tag of £375,000. Notably, this dwelling had been at the center of a targeted attack when unknown assailants sprayed the military-grade chemical Novichok on its front door in March 2018.
This event nearly claimed the lives of Sergei Skripal and his daughter, who were found incapacitated on a bench in Salisbury’s city center.
Extensive Cleanup and Restoration
After being contaminated with the deadly nerve agent, the house underwent an extensive cleaning process, amounting to hundreds of hours of meticulous work. Key furnishings, including the front door and porch, were replaced as part of the restoration efforts.
It’s reported that the property was declared safe in 2019, yet its troubled past had deterred potential buyers until now.
Preventing a ‘Museum’ Out of the House
In the wake of the attack, some residents in the vicinity had called for the house to be demolished.
However, city officials opted to sell the property to prevent it from becoming a macabre tourist attraction. The decision to welcome new residents represents a significant step forward for the community.
Salisbury’s Traumatic Past
The city of Salisbury bore the scars of the nerve agent attacks that unfolded in the spring of 2018. The aftermath of these attacks led to the tragic death of Dawn Sturgess, who succumbed to Novichok poisoning after encountering a perfume bottle containing the lethal substance.
Her partner, Charlie Rowley, also fell seriously ill due to the exposure.
The Skripal Attack and Its Suspected Perpetrators
The Skripal poisoning is believed to have been ordered by the Russian state. The suspected culprits, Russian intelligence officers Anatoliy Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin, were captured on CCTV during their journey from Moscow to Salisbury.
A third individual, senior Russian agent Denis Sergeev, was thought to be the orchestrator on the ground. All three fled back to Russia following the failed assassination attempt.
A Long Recovery for Salisbury
It took nearly a year for Salisbury to be officially declared free of all traces of the lethal nerve agent.
The authorities emphasized that the Novichok could have potentially caused mass casualties, underscoring the severity of the incident.
International Response and Ongoing Denials
In the aftermath of the Skripal poisoning, both the United Kingdom and the United States took punitive actions, expelling Russian diplomats.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denied any involvement and insisted that the suspected perpetrators were innocent tourists.
Sergei Skripal: A Double Agent’s Journey
Sergei Skripal’s story is one of espionage, betrayal, and redemption. A high-ranking Russian Intelligence officer, he became a double agent working for Britain, providing invaluable secrets to MI6.
After being caught by the Russian authorities and serving time in a penal colony, he was eventually pardoned and relocated to the UK as part of a spy-swap deal. Sergei, along with his wife Liudmila, embarked on a new life in Wiltshire.
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