The death of British woman Dawn Sturgess in 2018 after coming into contact with a nerve agent used to try to assassinate a former Soviet agent was the responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a British government report has found.

The March 2018 attack in the southwestern city of Salisbury targeted Sergei Skripal, who had defected to Britain. Skripal and his daughter Yulia were left critically ill from the attack. Four months later, Sturgess came into contact with the Novichok nerve agent, dying as a result.

Key points

• The report concludes that the attack 'must have been authorized at the highest level' by Putin
• It also concludes that the attack could not have been avoided, despite certain security 'failings'
• London announced fresh sanctions against Russia's GRU intelligence agency
• Moscow's ambassador was also summoned

What has the UK inquiry revealed about the 2018 Salisbury attack?

The inquiry into Sturgess' death was led by former UK Supreme Court Justice Anthony Hughes.

He said the attack on Russian double agent Skripal "must have been authorized at the highest level" by Putin.

Skripal was targeted by Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, believed to be GRU Russian intelligence agents.

British authorities believe they dumped a perfume bottle containing the nerve agent in Salisbury after carrying out the attack. It was then picked up by the unsuspecting Sturgess, who sprayed herself with what she thought was perfume.

"The conduct of Petrov and Boshirov, their GRU superiors, and those who authorized the mission up to and including, as I have found, President Putin, was astonishingly reckless," Hughes said. "They, and only they, bear moral responsibility for Dawn's death."

The report also concluded that the attack on Skripal could not have been avoided had there been further security measures in place around the former Soviet spy, despite acknowledging some "failings" in the handling of his security.

UK announces fresh sanctions against Russia

London sanctioned the GRU "in its entirety," the UK Foreign Office said after the report findings were announced. Eleven "actors behind Russian state-sponsored hostile activity" were also sanctioned.

The Foreign Office also named eight alleged cyber military intelligence officers accused of targeting Yulia Skripal with malware five years prior to the Novichok attack.

Russia's ambassador to London was also summoned and asked to respond to the inquiry's findings.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Hughes' findings "are a grave reminder of the Kremlin's disregard for innocent lives."

"Dawn's needless death was a tragedy and will forever be a reminder of Russia's reckless aggression," he said.

Edited by: Sean Sinico