Russian President Vladimir Putin is “morally responsible” for the death of a British woman who died after spraying herself with Novichok nerve agent, which was smuggled into the UK by Russian agents sent to assassinate a former spy, an investigation has concluded.
The attempt to assassinate former agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in March 2018 “must have been authorized by Putin at the highest levels”, inquiry chairman Lord Hughes of Obersley said on Thursday.
He called the assassination attempt a “shocking act of recklessness.”
“The risk that others other than the intended target might be killed or injured is entirely foreseeable. This risk is greatly amplified if a bottle of Novichok disguised as perfume is left in town,” he concluded.
The British government on Thursday sanctioned Russia’s GRU intelligence agency and summoned Moscow’s ambassador following the findings.
Team members wearing military protective gear search a fenced house in Salisbury on July 6, 2018 -Matt Dunham/Associated Press Copyright 2018. all rights reserved
The government said the GRU was under sweeping sanctions over the attack on Skripal, a former Soviet agent who defected to Britain.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Hughes’ findings were a “serious reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent life”.
“Dawn’s needless death is a tragedy and will forever remind us of Russia’s reckless aggression.”
On March 4, 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned to death by Novichok at home. They were all seriously ill but survived the poisoning.
Death of Dawn Sturgess
Sturges died on July 8 of the same year, a week after she accidentally sprayed herself with Novichok perfume, which was stored at the home of her boyfriend, Charlie Rowley, in Amesbury (about 11 kilometers north of Salisbury).
The incident prompted British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government to announce in November 2018 that it would launch a public inquiry into the use of nerve agents in the UK.
On September 5, 2018, British authorities identified two Russian citizens (Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov) as the main suspects in the Skripal poisoning, claiming that they were active officers of Russian military intelligence.
They were later identified as GRU agents Alexander Mishkin and Anatoly Chepiga.
People wearing protective gear work on a lorry in Winterslow, March 12, 2018 -AP Photo
Both men were charged in absentia with attempted murder.
Czech police later said they were also looking for two people in connection with a massive explosion at a Czech arms depot in 2014 that killed two people.
In 2021, police named a third Russian accused in connection with the Salisbury poisonings.
Anti-terror police recommended charges against Sergei Fedotov (pseudonym of Denis Sergeyev), including conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and possession and use of chemical weapons.
Authorities believe he is also a member of the GRU.
