Britain on Thursday sanctioned Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and summoned Moscow’s ambassador after a public inquiry concluded that President Vladimir Putin was ultimately responsible for the 2018 nerve agent attack in Salisbury.
The UK government said the sanctions apply to the GRU in its entirety over the Novichok poisoning that targeted Sergei Skripal, a former Russian intelligence officer who defected to Britain. Skripal and his daughter Yulia fell critically ill but survived the attack.
British citizens killed
The incident later led to the death of British citizen Dawn Sturgess. She and her partner collapsed after coming into contact with a discarded perfume bottle containing the same nerve agent. Sturgess sprayed the contents on her wrist, believing it was perfume and died days later. Her partner recovered.
Former Supreme Court Justice Anthony Hughes, who led the inquiry into Sturgess’s death, said the attack “must have been authorized at the highest level” in Russia, naming Putin as responsible for the assassination attempt.
He said Sturgess was “an innocent victim” of a GRU operation carried out on British soil. Moscow has denied any involvement.
‘UK will stand up to Putin’s brutal regime’
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “The Salisbury poisonings shocked the nation and today’s findings are a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives. Dawn’s needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression…The UK will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime and call out his murderous machine for what it is. Today’s sanctions are the latest step in our unwavering defence of European security, as we continue to squeeze Russia’s finances and strengthen Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table.”
