Russian military intelligence agency the GRU has been sanctioned in its entirety by the UK in the wake of the Sturgess inquiry report, the Foreign Office has said.
The measures also hit 11 people linked to state-sponsored hostile activity, and the Russian ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office.
The independent inquiry concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “astonishingly reckless” and bears “moral responsibility” for the nerve agent death of Dawn Sturgess, who died after being exposed to the chemical weapon known as Novichok in 2018.
It followed the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal, his daughter Yulia and then-police officer Nick Bailey, who were poisoned in nearby Salisbury in March that year.
They were harmed when members of a GRU military intelligence squad smeared the nerve agent on Mr Skripal’s door handle in a “public demonstration of Russian power”.
The sanctions announced by the Foreign Office on Thursday target eight cyber military intelligence officers for working for the GRU, which was responsible for cyber operations targeting Ms Skripal with X-agent malware and, five years later, the attempted murder of her and her father on UK soil.
A further three GRU officers were designated for orchestrating plots elsewhere in Europe, including planning a terror attack on Ukrainian supermarkets.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “The Salisbury poisonings shocked the nation and today’s findings are a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives.
“Dawn’s needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia’s reckless aggression. My thoughts are with her family and loved ones.
“The UK will always stand up to Putin’s brutal regime and call out his murderous machine for what it is.
“Today’s sanctions are the latest step in our unwavering defence of European security, as we continue to squeeze Russia’s finances and strengthen Ukraine’s position at the negotiating table.”
In the Dawn Sturgess Inquiry’s final report, published on Thursday, chairman Lord Hughes of Ombersley concluded that the attempted assassination of Mr Skripal “must have been authorised at the highest level, by President Putin”.
The chairman of the inquiry, which cost £8.3 million, said GRU agents Alexander Petrov, Ruslan Boshirov and Sergey Fedotov were “acting on instructions” when they carried out the attack.
After the report’s publication, Lord Hughes said: “The conduct of Petrov and Boshirov, their GRU superiors, and those who authorised the mission up to and including, as I have found, President Putin, was astonishingly reckless.
“They, and only they, bear moral responsibility for Dawn’s death.”
The 174-page report read: “All those involved in the assassination attempt (not only Petrov, Boshirov and Fedotov, but also those who sent them, and anyone else giving authorisation or knowing assistance in Russia or elsewhere) were morally responsible for Dawn Sturgess’ death.
“Deploying a highly toxic nerve agent in a busy city was an astonishingly reckless act.
“The risk that others beyond the intended target, Sergei Skripal, might be killed or injured was entirely foreseeable.
“That risk was dramatically magnified by leaving in the city a bottle of the Novichok disguised as perfume.”
