The UK has imposed sanctions on seven Russian individuals and two scientific research institutes accused of helping to develop chemical agents linked to the deaths of opposition leader
Alexei Navalny and British citizen Dawn Sturgess.
The measures target people and organisations involved in the research, development and production of the Novichok nerve agents and the toxin Epibatidine, which British officials say were used in attacks against Navalny in Russia and Sturgess in Salisbury.
The sanctions were announced by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on Monday, ahead of this week’s NATO Summit in Ankara.
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper said:
“Russia’s repeated use of chemical weapons is a sickening violation of international law and a direct threat to global security.
From the use of Novichok nerve agents in Salisbury to Epibatidine in Siberia, poisoning Dawn Sturgess and Alexei Navalny, Russia continues to use barbaric tools to inflict death and suffering on innocent civilians, including in Ukraine.
We will continue to call out Russia’s violations of the Chemical Weapons Convention, hold those responsible to account, and work with allies to deter further use of these dangerous weapons’.
Among those sanctioned are directors and technical specialists connected to Russian military and scientific research institutes. The organisations named include SC Signal, GNIII VM and GosNIIOKhT, which had already been sanctioned by the UK in 2020.
The government said individuals designated under the new measures included Vladimir Kondratyev, who co-authored research on the toxic effects of Epibatidine, and Andrei Antokhin and Viktor Taranchenko, who were involved in research on Novichok agents.
Britain has previously accused the Russian state of responsibility for Navalny’s death in custody in 2024, arguing that only the state had the “means, motive and opportunity” to deploy the toxin used against him.
The announcement forms part of a broader effort by London and its allies to expose and deter what they describe as Russia’s illegal chemical weapons programme. The UK says it has now sanctioned more than 3,400 individuals and organisations in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine and other hostile activities.
Officials said the issue would be raised with NATO allies in Ankara as members discuss support for Ukraine and measures to counter what the alliance sees as the long-term threat posed by Russia. Photo by A.Savin, Wikimedia commons.
