UK - Sergei, 66, & Yulia Skripal, 33, poisoned, Salisbury, 4 March 2018

[Elley Mae]

Lord Hughes said he was sure the three GRU agents "were acting on instructions", adding: "I have concluded that the operation to assassinate Sergei Skripal must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin.

Salisbury novichok poisonings: Putin 'morally responsible' for woman's death after authorising botched spy assassination bid

Dawn Sturgess's condition was "unsurvivable" after she unwittingly sprayed herself with novichok from a perfume bottle left by a Russian military hit squad, report says.

news.sky.com

Sir Keir Starmer said the findings "are a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives" and that Ms Sturgess's "needless" death was a tragedy that "will forever be a reminder of Russia's reckless aggression".

 

[dotr]

5 December 2025

Russia denies being behind Salisbury poisonings and warns of danger of war with Europe

Putin's ambassador to London accuses UK of 'Agatha Christie' staging the novichok crimes, that killed Dawn Sturgess, and says Russia is ready for war 'right now'.

news.sky.com

''Russia's ambassador to the UK has rejected the findings of an official investigation into the death of Dawn Sturgess, killed after the Salisbury poisoning attack in 2018.

The report concluded Vladimir Putin "must have" authorised the use of a nerve agent in the attack and was therefore "morally responsible" for the British woman's death.

Ambassador Andrei Kelin dismissed those claims and said he did not have a message for her family because Moscow was not involved.''

''The poisonings of Sergei Skripal - a former Russian spy - and his daughter were, he insisted, staged by the British government and secret services.
"The script is very elaborated," he said.
"It has been done by very talented professionals. It reminds me of Ian Fleming or even Agatha Christie"