EU sanctions six Russian researchers over Navalny poisoning

The European Union announced sanctions against six Russian citizens who were scientists and researchers linked to the development of the toxic chemical epibatidine, a substance identified in the body of opposition leader Alexei Navalny after his death in a Siberian prison on 16 February 2024.

The individuals include Igor Babkin, director of the Signal Scientific Center, Irina Derevyagina, a chemical‑research analyst at Russia’s State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology, and Mikhail Gutsalyuk, head of a scientific department at the Russian Military Academy of Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defense, among others. The EU measures freeze any assets the six have in member states, prohibit them from receiving funds, and ban their travel throughout the EU.

These sanctions bring the total number of persons and entities on the EU’s restrictive list for chemical‑weapons proliferation to 31 individuals and six entities, reaffirming the Union’s commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention and to preventing the development, production, storage and use of such weapons.