UK imposes sanctions on Russia's GRU spy agency for 2018 nerve agent attack

On Thursday, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Russia's GRU intelligence agency and summoned Moscow's ambassador, following an inquiry that found President Vladimir Putin accountable for a nerve agent attack on British soil in 2018. The government announced that the GRU would face sanctions in full, in response to the attack in Salisbury, which targeted Sergei Skripal, a former Soviet agent who had defected to the UK. Skripal and his daughter Yulia fell critically ill but ultimately survived.

The Russian government has consistently denied any involvement in the attack. However, a British woman, Dawn Sturgess, and her partner collapsed after coming into contact with a discarded perfume bottle containing the Novichok nerve agent. Sturgess applied the substance to her wrist, and tragically died a few days later, while her partner survived. Additionally, a police officer, Nick Bailey, fell ill but also survived.

Anthony Hughes, a former U.K. Supreme Court Justice who led the investigation into Sturgess death, stated that the attack on the Skripals must have been authorized at the highest level by Putin. He further concluded that Sturgess death was the result 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.

The UK's sanction announcement also named eight alleged cyber intelligence officers from the GRU, who had previously targeted Yulia Skripal with malware five years before the Novichok attack. The Foreign Office emphasized that these officers played a key role in the GRUs malicious operations.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented on the findings, stating that they serve as a "grave reminder of the Kremlins disregard for innocent lives." He also remarked that "Dawns needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russias reckless aggression."

Author: Olivia Parker