UK Inquiry Concludes Putin Ordered 2018 Novichok Attack on Ex-Russian Spy Skripal

A UK public inquiry has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin must have authorized the 2018 Novichok nerve agent attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England.

The inquiry, headed by former UK Supreme Court judge Anthony Hughes, found "overwhelming evidence of Russian state involvement" in what was described as a "reckless" display of power that ultimately resulted in the death of an innocent woman.

Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were discovered unconscious on a public bench in Salisbury in March 2018 after the military-grade nerve agent was applied to the door handle of Skripal's home.

The attack had devastating consequences beyond its intended targets. Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three, died approximately four months later after being exposed to the poison. Her partner had found a counterfeit perfume bottle that Russian operatives had used to smuggle the Novichok into the country.

While the Skripals and a police officer who visited Skripal's residence were critically ill from the effects, they eventually recovered.

Hughes' report states definitively: "I have concluded that the operation to assassinate Sergei Skripal must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin."

Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the attack, dismissing the accusations as anti-Russian propaganda. Following the report's release, the Russian embassy in London issued a statement on Telegram "categorically rejecting baseless and senseless accusations" directed against Putin.

The embassy further claimed that London was attempting to "disrupt the accelerating negotiation process for a peaceful settlement of the conflict around Ukraine."

The inquiry determined that the Russian operatives who applied the Novichok to Skripal's door had discarded the container with complete disregard for public safety. According to evidence presented, the contaminated perfume bottle contained enough poison to kill thousands of people.

These "astonishingly reckless" actions meant that the would-be assassins, their GRU superiors, and those who authorized the attack—up to Putin himself—bore moral responsibility for Sturgess' death, Hughes concluded.

British authorities have previously charged three suspected members of the Russian hit team in absentia. In response to the inquiry's findings, the UK government announced new sanctions against the GRU intelligence agency and summoned the Russian ambassador over Moscow's "ongoing campaign of hostile activity."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated: "The UK will always stand up to Putin's brutal regime and call out his murderous machine for what it is."

The Salisbury incident triggered the most significant East-West diplomatic expulsions since the Cold War. Relations between Moscow and London have deteriorated further since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Britain providing substantial military aid to Kyiv.

Two of the Russians accused by Britain later appeared on Russian television claiming to be innocent tourists visiting Salisbury Cathedral. All three have denied involvement in the poisoning.

Hughes noted Russia's "increased risk appetite," citing the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that same year. He concluded that the attack on Skripal was not simply an act of revenge but "amounted to a public statement, for both international and domestic consumption, that Russia will act decisively in what it regards as its own interests."

This marks the second major UK investigation to implicate Putin in attacks on British soil against his perceived enemies. In 2016, an inquiry concluded that Putin had probably ordered the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissident and former FSB security service agent, using radioactive polonium-210 in London.