UK Holds Putin Accountable for Death Linked to Nerve Agent Attack

On Thursday, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Russia’s intelligence service and summoned the Russian ambassador after an investigation concluded that President Vladimir Putin held «moral responsibility» for the death of a British woman resulting from a 2018 nerve agent incident.

Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, died after mistaking a discarded bottle of Nina Ricci perfume for an actual fragrance, only to discover it contained the lethal nerve agent Novichok.

The bottle had been left in Salisbury, located in the southwest of England, following a failed assassination attempt on former double agent Sergei Skripal in March 2018 by two individuals believed to be Russian operatives.

The inquiry revealed that the assassination attempt «must have been sanctioned at the highest levels, specifically by President Putin,» concluding that the Russian leader bears «moral responsibility» for Sturgess’s death four months later.

The inquiry remarked, «It is evident that this attack represented significant determination and was intended to serve as a public showcase of Russian strength.»

«Responsibility lies squarely with Putin,» U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated during a press briefing on Thursday.

He added that this incident further underscores the alarming and reckless hostile actions occurring on British soil.

In response to the inquiry’s findings, London announced it had summoned the Russian ambassador.

Moreover, the U.K. imposed comprehensive sanctions on the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency implicated in the attack, as conveyed by the Foreign Ministry.

Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, declared to the state-controlled RIA Novosti that Russia «does not acknowledge illegitimate sanctions imposed under fabricated justifications… and reserves the right to respond.»

The assassination attempt on Skripal resulted in the largest expulsion of diplomats between Western nations and Russia at that time, as well as a series of limited sanctions from Western countries.

This attack was the latest in a string of espionage-related incidents that have strained U.K.-Russia relations.

In a previous investigation, it was determined in 2016 that Putin «probably sanctioned» the poisoning of former spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 using the radioactive substance polonium.

In March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury after Novichok was applied to the door handle of Skripal’s residence.

Both survived following extensive medical treatment and currently live under protection.

The inquiry reported that the bottle containing «Novichok made in Russia» was brought to Salisbury by two suspects, Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who are believed to be GRU agents.

«This mission’s execution by Petrov, Boshirov, their GRU superiors, and those who approved it, including President Putin, was extraordinarily reckless,» stated inquiry chair Anthony Hughes, a former senior judge, after the report was released.

«They alone bear moral responsibility for Dawn’s death,» Hughes added, emphasizing that Sturgess was «an entirely innocent victim of the cruel and cynical actions of others.»

The public inquiry into Sturgess’s death, which commenced last year, revealed that the perfume bottle contained sufficient Novichok to endanger «thousands» of individuals.

«The likelihood of harming individuals other than the intended target, Sergei Skripal, was entirely foreseeable,» the report articulated.

The inquiry also noted that there were some «shortcomings» in handling Skripal’s protection as an exchanged former agent; however, it was deemed «not unreasonable» for British intelligence to suppose that there was not a high assassination risk.

Michael Mansfield, representing Sturgess’s family, voiced that they found the report «unsatisfactory,» as it left unresolved questions concerning the preventability of the attack.

In a witness statement, Skripal expressed his belief that Putin ordered the attack, «based on my extensive experience and analysis of the ongoing decline of Russia.»

Meanwhile, relations between London and Moscow remain severely strained due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.