The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on nine Russian individuals and entities over the development of chemical agents used against opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Siberian penal colony in February 2024.
The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office announced the measures on July 6, 2026, targeting seven individuals and two scientific research institutes.
It said those named were involved in the research, development and production of the Novichok nerve agents, used in the 2018 Salisbury attack, and the lethal toxin epibatidine, used to poison Navalny.
The Salisbury attack targeted former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, who were left seriously ill.
It also led to the death of Dawn Sturgess, a British national, later that year.
The two institutes named were SC Signal, a state scientific research body, and GNIII VM, Russia’s institute for military medicine, according to the Foreign Office.
The measures freeze the assets of those listed and impose travel bans on key personnel.
British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said Russia’s repeated use of chemical weapons was “a sickening violation of international law and a direct threat to global security”.
She said Russia continued to use such tools to inflict suffering on civilians, including in its war in Ukraine.
The Foreign Office said the sanctions formed part of wider efforts to expose and deter Russian chemical weapons activity, both on and off the battlefield.
The British Government framed the announcement ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara on July 7-8, 2026, where allies are expected to strengthen collective pressure on Moscow.
The move followed the European Union’s decision on July 3, 2026, to sanction six Russian scientists it linked to Navalny’s poisoning and death.
Those listed by the EU included researchers connected to SC Signal, the same institute later targeted by London.
Navalny, a prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin, died at the age of 47 in the penal colony.
British authorities have said that only the Russian State had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy the toxin against him, and that they hold Moscow responsible for his death.
The UK said its latest action followed a meeting of partners at the Munich Security Conference in February, where they confirmed the circumstances of Navalny’s death.
