Russia’s Putin found ‘morally responsible’ for nerve agent death in UK

Al JazeeraCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete by By News AgenciesDecember 4, 2025 at 06:25 PM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

A public inquiry in the UK has concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin bears "moral responsibility" for the 2018 death of Dawn Sturgess, who was unintentionally poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury. Sturgess was exposed after spraying herself with what she thought was perfume, which actually contained the deadly chemical. The Novichok was originally used in an assassination attempt against Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, and his daughter Yulia, who both survived. The inquiry, led by Anthony Hughes, found Putin authorized the mission, and the UK government has responded by sanctioning the Russian intelligence agency (GRU). The Kremlin denies involvement in the incident.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

GRU ×240% UK ×250% Russia ×360% Dawn Sturgess ×270% Sergei Skripal ×380% Vladimir Putin ×4100%

Keywords

nerve agent attack 90% vladimir putin 80% dawn sturgess 70% sergei skripal 70% moral responsibility 70% assassination attempt 70% novichok 60% gru 60% salisbury 50% spy 40%