Britain has imposed sanctions on nine Russian individuals and entities for the development of chemical weapons. The measures target seven Russians and two scientific research institutes.
The sanctioned institutions include SC Signal, a Russian state scientific research institute, and GNIII VM, the Scientific Research and Testing Institute for Military Medicine.
The British government stated that these institutes and their senior staff are linked to Moscow's chemical weapons programme and were involved in developing the toxins used to poison Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny.
Navalny fell seriously ill on a flight in Siberia in 2020, and Western laboratories concluded he had been poisoned. The sanctions were announced in connection with his 2024 killing.