Britain sanctions Russian GRU over 2018 Novichok attack

Great Britain imposed sanctions against the Russian military intelligence agency GRU and summoned the Russian ambassador on Thursday after an investigation concluded that dictator Vladimir Putin was responsible for a nerve agent attack on British soil in 2018, UNN reports with reference to AP.

Details

The British government stated that the GRU is fully sanctioned for "reckless" actions, including the attack in Salisbury targeting Sergei Skripal, a former GRU officer who was imprisoned in Russia in 2006 for spying for Great Britain. He was released as part of a spy exchange in 2010 and settled in Great Britain.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia Skripal became seriously ill in March 2018 after being exposed to the Novichok nerve agent, which was smeared on the doorknob of the former spy's front door. Police officer Nick Bailey also fell ill. All three survived.

Three months later, British woman Dawn Sturgess and her partner collapsed after finding a discarded perfume bottle containing Novichok. Sturgess sprayed the contents of the bottle on her wrist and died a few days later. Her partner survived.

Addendum

Moscow denies any involvement in the poisonings. In 2018, Putin called Sergei Skripal "just a scumbag" who was of no interest to the Kremlin.

Former UK Supreme Court judge Anthony Hughes, who led the inquiry into Sturgess's death, said the attack on the Skripals "must have been authorized at the highest level" by Putin.

He concluded that Sturgess was an "innocent victim of an attempt by officers of a Russian state organization to carry out an assassination on the streets of Salisbury using a highly toxic nerve agent."

Great Britain accused three alleged GRU agents of attacking the Skripals, but Great Britain does not have an extradition agreement with Russia, so there is little chance of bringing them to justice.

Novichok is a class of military-grade nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War. Western weapons experts believe that this weapon was produced only in Russia, although Moscow stated that the US, Great Britain, and other countries have the expertise to produce it.

The UK's sanctions statement also named eight alleged military cyber intelligence officers who worked for the GRU. 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Hughes' findings "are a stark 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," he said.

Novichok poisoning of the Skripals: new details emerge29.10.24, 21:37 • 21274 views