Putin held 'morally accountable' for nerve agent death in UK

The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on Russia's intelligence agency and called in the Russian ambassador after an investigation concluded that President Vladimir Putin held "moral responsibility" for the death of a British woman in a 2018 nerve agent attack.

Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, died after spraying what she believed was perfume from an abandoned Nina Ricci bottle, which instead contained the lethal chemical Novichok. The bottle had been left in Salisbury, southwest England, following a failed assassination attempt on former double agent Sergei Skripal by two suspected Russian operatives earlier that year.

The inquiry determined that the operation "must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin," and concluded that the Russian leader bore "moral responsibility" for Sturgesss death months later. The report described the attack as a deliberate public demonstration of Russian power.

In response, the UK summoned Russia's ambassador to address Moscow's "ongoing campaign of hostile activity" and sanctioned the GRU intelligence agency responsible for the attack, along with 11 individuals involved in Russian state-sponsored hostile operations.

Russia has consistently denied involvement, although UK authorities have long suspected Putins direct approval. The Skripal attack had previously prompted the largest expulsion of diplomats between Western nations and Russia, alongside limited Western sanctions. These measures have since been overshadowed by sanctions following Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The attempt on Skripal's life adds to a series of espionage incidents straining UK-Russian relations. A 2016 inquiry also suggested Putin likely approved the 2006 poisoning of former spy Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium in London.

In March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a Salisbury bench after Novichok was applied to his homes door handle. Both survived intensive treatment and now live under protection. The deadly bottle, traced to Russia, was allegedly handled by GRU agents Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who likely attempted to use it against the Skripals before leaving it behind.

Inquiry chair Anthony Hughes described the actions of Petrov, Boshirov, their GRU superiors, and President Putin as "astonishingly reckless," placing moral responsibility solely on them for Sturgesss death. Sturgess was deemed "the entirely innocent victim of the cruel and cynical acts of others."

While the inquiry acknowledged some lapses in Skripal's security, it did not fault British intelligence for underestimating the assassination risk. Legal submissions highlighted that Sturgess had been unknowingly caught in a "illegal and outrageous international assassination attempt," with the bottle containing enough Novichok to threaten thousands. The report emphasized that deploying such a nerve agent in a populated area was extremely reckless and the risk to bystanders was foreseeable.

Skripal, in a statement to the inquiry, expressed his belief that Putin ordered the attack based on his experience and analysis of Russia's trajectory, though he noted a lack of direct evidence. Some intelligence matters were examined in closed sessions due to security concerns.

UK-Russia relations remain tense, further strained by Russias invasion of Ukraine, ongoing espionage claims, and reciprocal diplomatic expulsions.

Author: Maya Henderson