A report by inquiry chair Anthony Hughes, a former UK Supreme Court judge, said there was “overwhelming” evidence the operation was carried out by officers of Russia’s GRU military intelligence and “must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin.”
Hughes said the would-be assassins, their GRU superiors and those who approved the plot bore moral responsibility for Sturgess’ death.
Skripal, a former double agent who sold secrets to Britain and moved there after a 2010 spy swap, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a public bench in Salisbury in March 2018 after Novichok was applied to the front door handle of his home, the inquiry said.
A responding police officer also fell critically ill; all three recovered.
About four months later, Sturgess, 44, died after her partner found a counterfeit perfume bottle that had been used to smuggle the military-grade nerve agent into the country, according to the inquiry.
The contaminated bottle contained enough poison to kill thousands of people, the report said. Hughes called the actions “astonishingly reckless.”
Russia has denied involvement, describing the accusations as anti-Russian propaganda. The Russian embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
British police have charged in absentia three suspected members of the hit team. The government on Thursday announced new sanctions against the GRU and summoned the Russian ambassador over what it called Moscow’s “ongoing campaign of hostile activity.”
“The UK will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime and call out his murderous machine for what it is,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement.
Hughes said the attack was intended as a public statement of Russian power, citing an “increased risk appetite” and asserting it was not simply revenge against Skripal. The inquiry found no evidence Skripal faced an imminent threat or that more could have been done to protect him.
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Source: Reuters, Euronews, BBC