UK announces new sanctions against Russians over Navalny poisoning with Novichok
The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on seven individuals and two research institutes linked to the development of the nerve agents Novichok and epibatidine, in connection with the death of Alexei Navalny and the death of British citizen Dawn Sturgess in Salisbury.
The UK government has announced new sanctions against seven Russian nationals and two scientific institutions involved in the development of the nerve agents Novichok and epibatidine. This move is related to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in custody and the death of British citizen Dawn Sturgess, who died after coming into contact with Novichok following a Russian intelligence service attack on Sergei Skripal in Salisbury.
The sanctions target the Signal Research Institute and the State Research and Testing Institute of Military Medicine, along with their directors: Artur Zhirov, Andrei Antokhin, Alexander Makhlai, Ivan Kravtsov, Viktor Taranenko, Sergei Chepur, and Vladimir Kondratiev. Kondratiev had already been sanctioned in 2020. Antokhin and Taranenko researched the properties of Novichok, while Kondratiev is a co-author of a document on epibatidine testing.
The UK emphasizes that only the Russian authorities had the means, motive, and opportunity to use this lethal toxin against Navalny. The EU also imposed sanctions against six Russians in early July in connection with the Navalny poisoning. In February, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden issued a joint statement saying laboratory results confirmed Navalny's death from poisoning, with the Russian government highly likely responsible.
