The two men have already confirmed that these were their real names and added that the UK authorities published their photos. At the same time, Alexander and Ruslan said that they were just mid-level entrepreneurs and traveled to Salisbury as tourists on friends' advice.
Last week, British officials charged Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov with carrying out a failed nerve agent attack on former Russian intelligence agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in early March.
READ MORE: Skripal Poisoning "Suspects" Tell Sputnik, RT Editor-in-Chief They're Not Agents
The Metropolitan Police released images of the suspected perpetrators, claiming that they were Russian military intelligence officers.
The police suggested that the two suspects, who allegedly traveled on valid Russian passports, arrived in London from Moscow two days before the alleged assassination attempt.