Key facts
- The UK has sanctioned seven Russian scientists and two research institutions.
- The sanctions are for their alleged involvement in developing chemical weapons.
- These include the Novichok nerve agent used in the 2018 Salisbury attack.
- The sanctions also target the development of the chemical used to poison Alexei Navalny.
- The targeted institutions are SC Signal and GNIII VM.
- British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned Russia's repeated use of chemical weapons.
Britain has imposed sanctions on seven Russian scientists and two research institutions, accusing them of developing chemical weapons. The UK Foreign Office announced the measures on Monday, targeting individuals and entities involved in the creation of the Novichok nerve agent and other toxic chemicals.
The sanctions specifically name SC Signal, a Russian state scientific research institute, and GNIII VM, the country's Scientific Research and Testing Institute for Military Medicine. These institutions and their key personnel are accused of developing the Novichok nerve agent, which was used in the 2018 poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. The Skripals survived, but a British woman died after exposure to the discarded nerve agent.
Furthermore, the sanctions are linked to the chemical agent believed to have fatally poisoned Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny in Siberia in 2024. Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, died in an Arctic prison colony.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated that Russia's repeated use of chemical weapons constitutes a "sickening violation of international law and a direct threat to global security." The Foreign Office noted that these new measures directly impact leading scientific research centers and key individuals involved in the development and production of toxic chemicals.
This announcement comes ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara, where discussions are expected to focus on the ongoing war in Ukraine. The UK has now sanctioned over 3,400 individuals and organizations since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.