British government announced significant new sanctions against Russia, specifically targeting its military intelligence agency, the GRU. This decision comes in the wake of a UK public inquiry into the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack.
The public inquiry determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely ordered the 2018 attack on double agent Sergei Skripal. While the attack targeted Skripal, it resulted in the death of an innocent British woman, Dawn Sturgess.
Britain has sanctioned the GRU in its entirety. Additionally, sanctions were placed on eight cyber military intelligence officers and three other operatives accused of organizing hostile activities in Europe, including a plot against Ukrainian supermarkets.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that the findings highlight the “Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives.” The government also summoned the Russian ambassador to address these findings and what it describes as Moscow’s campaign of hostility.
Russia’s Response Russia has denied any involvement in the Salisbury poisoning. The Russian Foreign Ministry dismissed the sanctions as illegitimate and “trumped-up,” with spokespeople stating that retaliatory measures from Moscow are “inevitable.”
