Novichok developer Vladimir Uglev dies aged 80 after criticising Moscow over Salisbury poisoning

Russian chemist Vladimir Uglev, who helped develop the Novichok nerve agent, has died aged 80. He had publicly accused the Russian regime of carrying out a “state-level hit” in Britain after the 2018 Salisbury poisoning, making him a prominent critic of the weapon’s use.

Uglev died on 26 October, but his death was reported more than a week later; the cause and delay are unknown. Sergei and Yulia Skripal survived the poisoning, while Dawn Sturgess died after encountering Novichok in a discarded perfume bottle. Uglev worked at a secretive Soviet chemical weapons research site from 1975 to 1990 and also spoke out about the 2020 poisoning of Alexei Navalny; a British public inquiry concluded in December 2025 that Vladimir Putin authorised the Salisbury operation.