A top European court has ruled that Russia is fully responsible for the assassination of ex-KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2016.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) confirmed that the ‘assassination was imputable to Russia’.
“The court found it established that the assassination had been carried out by Lugovoy and Kovtun,” the ruling further said.
“The planned and complex operation involving the procurement of a rare deadly poison, the travel arrangements for the pair, and repeated and sustained attempts to administer the poison indicated that Mr Litvinenko had been the target of the operation.”
The Strasbourg-based court further supported the findings of a lengthy British inquiry.
The British investigation concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably approved a Russian intelligence operation to murder Litvinenko.
Litvinenko, a strong critic to Kremlin, died weeks after drinking green tea laced with rare radioactive isotope Polonium 210.
Russia Denied Involvement
However, Russia has always denied any involvement in Litvinenko’s death and quickly dismissed the ECHR’s ruling.
“The ECHR hardly has the authority or technological capacity to possess information on the matter,” Kremlin spokesman told reporters.
“There are still no results from this investigation and making such claims is at the very least unsubstantiated.”
