Ex-Russian spy Litvinenko suspected of poisoning in Russia has died abroad

And Andrei Lugovoi told Telegram: “Sad news, my good and loyal friend Dmitry Kovtun died suddenly from a serious illness related to infection with the Corona virus.” “This is a huge loss that cannot be compensated.”

In September 2021, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Russia was responsible for the murder of dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned at the Millennium Hotel in London in 2006. The court found strong suspicions that Dmitriy Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi “acted as agents of the Russian state.”

Litvinenko was a former KGB agent. He has lived in exile in Britain since 2001 after denouncing corruption and alleged links between Russian intelligence services and organized crime. He died on November 23, 2006 in London.

On his deathbed, Litvinenko pointed the accusing finger at President Vladimir Putin. In 2016, a British commission of inquiry concluded that Litvinenko had been poisoned with radioactive polonium-210 by two Russians, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, but Russia has always refused to extradite them.

The commission assumed that this was done on behalf of the Russian intelligence FSB. The report stated that it is likely that President Putin personally approved the assassination. However, the researchers did not provide conclusive evidence against the head of the Russian state.

The other suspect, Andrei Lugovoi, has always denied involvement in the attack. Lugovoi, who has been a member of the Russian parliament for years, called the accusations against him “absurd” in 2016, and the Russian government rejected the report. “I grieve the death of a dear and loyal friend,” Lugovoi said in response to Kovtun’s death.