The British are apparently hoping to breathe new life into the “Putin is a killer” narrative. On Dec. 4 a British investigative commission released its report on the death of Dawn Sturgess, a woman who inadvertently died as a result of the alleged Russian plot to assassinate former double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, England in 2018. The inquiry concluded that Putin personally ordered the assassination of Sergei Skripal to serve as an “international demonstration of Russian power,” reported The Times, though that conclusion doesn’t appear to be based on any evidence whatsoever.
Lord Hughes of Ombersley, chair of the inquiry, said an assassination attempt on British soil would provoke serious diplomatic reprisals and international sanctions against Russia, and therefore would not have been risked “without senior approval.” He concluded that the “astonishingly reckless” operation “must have been authorized at the highest level, by President Putin.” He added: “It is simply not likely that any step as serious as assassination on foreign soil would be undertaken without high-level authorization.”
In response, the British government slapped sanctions on the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency.
