SALISBURY: Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited Salisbury on Friday to support the city as it tries to recover from the impact of this year’s poison attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter.
They visited businesses and met local residents before attending a reception for those most closely involved in trying to restore the city’s tourist trade.
Visitor numbers have fallen since Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in March.
They had been poisoned with a Cold War era nerve agent for which the government blamed Russia, plunging bilateral relations to a new low, although the Kremlin denied any involvement.
Charles and Camilla also held a private meeting with Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who fell ill after coming into contact with the Novichok nerve agent after trying to help the Skripals.
For weeks, the predominant images coming from this elegant southern city were not those of England’s tallest cathedral spire but of police roadblocks and cordoned-off streets as investigators in hazchem suits swept the area.
Re-stimulating tourism in Salisbury has been a priority after visitor numbers fell some 20 percent. Nine businesses folded as a result of the incident, on top of a reduced footfall of up to 80 percent in the immediate vicinity of the poisoning.
Sergei Skripal, 66, was part of a spy swap between Russia and Britain in 2010 and had since made Salisbury his home. He was released from hospital last month after spending weeks in an induced coma.
Yulia Skripal, 33, left hospital in April and spoke last month to Reuters, outlining her desire to return to Russia in the future despite the poisoning.
“My life has been turned upside down,” she said.
Prince Charles visits UK site of nerve agent attack
Prince Charles visits UK site of nerve agent attack
- Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited Salisbury on Friday to support the city as it tries to recover from the impact of this year’s poison attack on a former Russian double agent and his daughter.
- Visitor numbers have fallen since Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found slumped on a bench in March.
Russia’s Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year’s address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.
US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe’s bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides’ negotiating stances still far apart.
Dressed in a black coat, Putin — whose forces are advancing slowly but steadily in Ukraine — spoke about Russia’s destiny and the unity of its people, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and security of the “Fatherland.”
He paid tribute in particular to his forces fighting in Ukraine, calling them heroes.
“Millions of people across Russia — I assure you — are with you on this New Year’s Eve,” said Putin.
“They are thinking of you, empathizing with you, hoping for you. I wish all our soldiers and commanders a happy coming New Year! We believe in you and our Victory!“
His speech, which was first broadcast in Russia’s far east, came as Russia released video footage of what it said was a downed drone, presenting it as evidence that Ukraine had tried this week to attack a presidential residence. Kyiv has dismissed Russia’s allegation as a lie designed to derail peace talks.
In another video released on Wednesday, Russia’s top general told troops to keep carving out buffer zones in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions and said Moscow’s forces had advanced faster in December than in any other month in 2025.
Reuters could not verify his battlefield assertion.
