THE wife and daughter of the wanted Salisbury assassin have been revealed as models, with their images appearing in the UK after the deadly attack.
Russian intelligence agent Alexander Mishkin – who operated under the alias Alexander Petrov – was accused of attempting to assassinate MI6 double agent Sergei Skripal in 2018.
Likely acting under Vladimir Putin’s orders, Mishkin posed as a tourist while poisoning Skripal and his daughter with a nerve agent at their Wiltshire home.
It has now emerged that Mishkin’s wife, Nadezhda Mishkina, and their daughter, Miroslava, have modelling careers, with their images appearing in Britain.
Some of their work even features on Amazon, promoting children’s glitter bracelets.
The revelation of their previously unknown modelling careers was reported by Russian independent news organisation Agentsvo.
“The wife and daughter of GRU [military intelligence] officer Alexander Mishkin, who the British authorities consider to be one of those who poisoned Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, have repeatedly appeared in advertisements for various products – including in the United Kingdom,” said the outlet.
Back in Russia, the pair appeared on the cover of Everything for Women magazine in January 2019 and have also featured on advertising in Germany and other parts of Europe.
At the time, they were not publicly identified as members of the Mishkin family.
“A photo of Miroslava alone was used on the website of a Russian online shop selling children’s clothing – and also on a marketplace in Norway,” said a report.
“A photo of Nadezhda Mishkina alone was used in the design of the board game Say If You Can.”
“After the Skripal poisoning, the family changed their surname to Lebedev.
Mishkin – alongside co-accused Anatoly Chepiga – remains wanted in Britain.
The Crown Prosecution Service has said that there is enough evidence to charge them both with conspiracy to murder.
At the time, Theresa May said the suspects were members of the Russian military service GRU and were not acting on a “rogue operation”.
While the Skripals survived the assassination attempt, Dawn Sturgess died after being exposed to a perfume bottle allegedly containing the Novichok nerve agent.
The 44-year-old sprayed herself with the liquid after her partner found the bottle and gave it to her.
After collapsing at her flat in Amesbury, she was taken to Salisbury District Hospital where she died three months later.
Her death prompted a murder inquiry, with the findings due to be released on 4 December.
In the aftermath of the attack, then-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was “overwhelmingly likely” that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack.
According to investigative journalist Christo Grozev, Mishkin has “carried out a sabotage mission” as part of Russia’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine.
Away from the frontline, he is now reportedly “engaged in training and recruitment” for Putin’s operations against the West.
“They are now recruiting criminals from all over the world [to take part in sabotage in the West],” said Grozev.
“It’s being done from Moscow, from Sevastopol, from St Petersburg.”