The Russian scientist was part of the Soviet team behind the military-grade toxin used against the Kremlin’s enemies.
A Russian scientist who helped create the deadly nerve agent Novichok before angering the Kremlin by condemning its use against civilians has died aged 80.
Vladimir Ouglev was part of the Soviet team behind Novichok, the military-grade toxin that the Kremlin later deployed in a failed attempt to kill Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, in March 2018.
Vladimir Uglev was part of the Soviet team behind Novichok. He died on October 26, according to The Insider.
He died on October 26, according to independent Russian investigative media outlet The Insider, which reported his death on Wednesday without revealing the cause. Before his death, he worked as a chemical engineer for a private company in Anapa, a city in Russia’s Krasnodar region.
Uglev sparked fury in the Kremlin after a series of media interviews in which he accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using the poison, also known as A-234, against the Skripals. He described it as a “state-level coup,” while Moscow denied any involvement in the attack.
Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, was targeted in 2018.
YURI SENATEUROV/Kommersant Photo/AFP via Getty I
The leaders of the United States, France and Germany joined the United Kingdom in blaming the Kremlin for the incident, saying there was “no plausible alternative explanation.” Dawn Sturgess, a British woman exposed to poison in Salisbury, has died.
Investigative journalist Christo Grozev paid tribute on X, describing Ouglev as an outspoken critic of the use of Novichok against civilians.
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“Uglev openly contradicted the Kremlin’s denials in the Skripal and Navalny cases,” Grozev wrote, referring to Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who mysteriously died in prison at the age of 47 in February 2024.
The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok in 2020.
Four years before his death, Navalny survived Novichok poisoning.
Uglev spoke to journalists again after the attack, explaining how the poison works.
The scientist also helped The Insider investigate the use of Novichok by Russian intelligence agencies, including a report examining who produces the nerve agent in Russia and how.
After Uglev gave his first interview in 2018, leaflets accusing him of pedophilia appeared on his door and he received a phone call claiming he was suspected of theft.
He was also hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing near his home, suffering head trauma and bruising to his arm and leg. Uglev insisted the collision was an accident, but said he feared he would be “targeted.”
“Everyone experiences fear, but you have to control your fear,” the scientist said when asked if he thought he could be targeted because of the information he disclosed.
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