Britain has announced new sanctions against Russia, including the entire GRU military intelligence agency, which was singled out in a UK public inquiry into the 2018 death of a woman poisoned by the nerve agent Novichok.

The government on Thursday also summoned the Russian ambassador to demand a response to the inquiry’s findings and over what it called Moscow’s “ongoing campaign of hostile activity” against the country.

The Russian embassy did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the actions.

The inquiry concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin must have ordered the nerve agent attack on Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in 2018, in an incident that led to the death of an innocent woman, Dawn Sturgess.

“Today’s findings are a grave reminder of the Kremlin’s disregard for innocent lives,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in the government’s statement.

The government also sanctioned three further GRU officers who it said were responsible for orchestrating hostile activity in Ukraine and across Europe, including plotting a terror attack on Ukrainian supermarkets targeting innocent civilians.

As one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters since the war began in 2022, Britain has since mounted a range of sanctions against Russia, from businessmen and political leaders to companies and ships.

Russia has previously dismissed Western sanctions as politically motivated.

—AAP