Putin Blamed in UK Poisoning That Killed Innocent Woman

A British public inquiry has found Russian President Vladimir Putin "morally responsible" for the 2018 Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, England, that led to the death of an innocent British woman, reports Politico. Dawn Sturgess died after unknowingly spraying herself with perfume from a bottle that contained the Russian nerve agent Novichok. She didn't realize the bottle, a gift from her partner, was laced with the poison. The bottle had been discarded after being used in the attempted murder of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, four months earlier.

While the inquiry's chair, Anthony Hughes, pointed out "failings" in protecting the Skripals, he also noted that even extensive surveillance would likely not have stopped a "professionally mounted attack with a nerve agent." In a statement, Hughes called Sturgess' death "needless and arbitrary," concluding in the inquiry that the assassination attempt on Skripal "must have been authorized at the highest level, by President Putin." The UK government has responded by sanctioning Russia's military intelligence agency, the GRU, and summoning the Russian ambassador.

No one has been charged in Sturgess' murder. The AP notes that her partner, Charles Rowley, who was also injured in the 2018 incident, survived. Two suspects, Alexander Mishkin and Anatoliy Chepiga, were identified as the agents who deployed the nerve agent, but they escaped to Russia before they could be arrested, per Politico. The charges they face—including conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and use of a chemical weapon—only relate to the Skripal case, not Sturgess'.

The inquiry into Sturgess' death began last year, six years after the incident, which also led to 80 others being hospitalized. The inquiry's findings serve as "a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives," UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says, per the AP. "Dawn's needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia's reckless aggression." The Sturgess family, meanwhile, is reacting to the report, with one relative announcing, "We can finally put her to peace," per the BBC. Still, the family's statement notes the report "has left us with some answers, but also a number of unanswered questions."