Russian President Vladimir Putin has been deemed 'morally responsible' for the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess, who was unwittingly caught up in a nerve agent attack in Salisbury three years ago.
According to a public inquiry, Putin had "authorised the mission" to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, whose poisoning with Novichok in March 2018 led to Sturgess's eventual death from exposure to the same deadly chemical four months later.
The conduct of both Putin and those allegedly behind him in carrying out this operation was described as "astonishingly reckless" by the inquiry chair, Anthony Hughes.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement, but the UK government has taken swift action in response to the findings, sanctioning Russia's intelligence agency and 11 individuals accused of carrying out hostile activities on behalf of Moscow.
As Sturgess is now considered an 'entirely innocent victim' whose death was a direct result of Russia's attempt to assassinate Skripal, her family has spoken out about the need for greater scrutiny over security assessments and protective measures.
The British Prime Minister described the findings as "a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives", while summoning the Russian ambassador for further explanations.
According to a public inquiry, Putin had "authorised the mission" to assassinate former Russian spy Sergei Skripal, whose poisoning with Novichok in March 2018 led to Sturgess's eventual death from exposure to the same deadly chemical four months later.
The conduct of both Putin and those allegedly behind him in carrying out this operation was described as "astonishingly reckless" by the inquiry chair, Anthony Hughes.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement, but the UK government has taken swift action in response to the findings, sanctioning Russia's intelligence agency and 11 individuals accused of carrying out hostile activities on behalf of Moscow.
As Sturgess is now considered an 'entirely innocent victim' whose death was a direct result of Russia's attempt to assassinate Skripal, her family has spoken out about the need for greater scrutiny over security assessments and protective measures.
The British Prime Minister described the findings as "a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives", while summoning the Russian ambassador for further explanations.
he always thought he was above all this but looks like his reckless decisions got him caught out lolol 
11 people sanctioned by uk now thats a good start but i wish they took more action against putin himself 
like maybe a little trip to iceland or somethin' haha 
Putin is a pretty shady dude, you know? I mean, he's already got a bad rep for being ruthless and all that, but this... 
This takes it to a whole new level! He's basically saying "hey, we didn't do anything" when the evidence is right there in front of everyone. 
The fact that he authorised the mission to kill Skripal and then Sturgess ends up dying from exposure to the same poison... it just doesn't add up, you feel? 
And now his family's speaking out about how they need better security measures, like, for real. It's all quite concerning, innit? 
Russia is always so secretive about their dealings, it's like they're trying to hide something. Like, what were they really thinking when they authorized this nerve agent attack? Did they not care that innocent people got hurt in the process? 
It's just mind-boggling to me how they can say they had nothing to do with it and then be sanctioned by another country. 
The fact that Dawn Sturgess's family is now pushing for more security measures is really what this whole situation should be about - keeping people safe, not just politicking. 
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The fact that his guys tried to take out Skripal and then Sturgess ends up dying from the same poison... it's just so reckless! I'm not surprised they're denying involvement though, that's always their M.O. 
. british gov did the right thing tho, we need more countries to hold putin accountable for this. Sturgess was an innocent person who got caught in the middle of a spy game 
. can't believe she died from exposure to novichok 
, poor Dawn Sturgess didn't deserve to die like that 
... I mean, Putin authorized the whole thing and basically got away with it? 
that's just not right in my book 
. it's absolutely staggering that they could be so reckless with people's lives 
... the fact that the family of Dawn is still fighting for answers is really heartbreaking 
Russia's got some serious nerve (pun intended) trying to play dumb about this one... 
. I think the UK government needs to keep pushing for more transparency and accountability from Russia on this one 
. So now we're tying this whole thing back to Russia's actions in Salisbury? Like, what's next? Are we gonna hold them accountable for every single crime committed across the world? 
. It's just heartbreaking to think about Dawn's family having to go through this 
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caught up in that nerve agent attack in Salisbury 3 yrs ago... and now Russia's president Putin is officially blamed for her death 
this whole thing is just wild... 
. Anyway, I hope Sturgess's family gets some peace of mind from this ruling and maybe some justice too 
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. It's about time someone took responsibility for their actions, but I'm not sure if it's too little, too late 
. More needs to be done to hold Russia accountable for this heinous act...