Kremlin assassin who killed ex-spy in London hotel dies of Covid in Russia – World News

Dmitri Kovtun was accused of poisoning former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006 with a rare radioactive substance hidden in his tea

One of the men accused of killing former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko in London has died of Covid-19 in Moscow, it has been widely reported.

Dmitri Kovtun was one of two men who poisoned Mr Litvinenko’s tea with a rare radioactive substance in 2006, according to a British investigation.

According to reports attributed to Russian news agency Tass, Mr Kovtun contracted coronavirus before dying in a Moscow hospital.

Mr Kovtun has been accused, along with Andrei Lugovoi, of being behind the assassination of Mr Litvinenko 16 years ago at the Millennium Hotel in Mayfair.

Tass reportedly quoted Mr Lugovoi, now a member of the Russian Parliament, as saying he was mourning the loss of a “close and loyal friend”.

A British public inquiry concluded in 2016 that the assassination of Vladimir Putin’s outspoken critic, who died after drinking radioactive polonium-210-laced tea, was “probably” carried out with the consent of the Russian president.

Led by former High Court judge Sir Robert Owen, the inquiry found that the two Russian men – Mr Lugovoi and Mr Kovtun – had deliberately poisoned Mr Litvinenko by putting the radioactive substance in his drink at the central London hotel , resulting in an agonizing death.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) also ruled last year that Russia was responsible for his murder following a case involving the deceased’s widow, Marina Litvinenko.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the death and has refused to comply with international arrest warrants issued for both Mr Kovtun and Mr Lugovoi.

Sir Roberts Litvinenko’s inquiry said the use of the radioactive substance – which could only have come from a nuclear reactor – was a “strong indicator” of government involvement.

The investigation also revealed that the two men were likely acting under the direction of the Russian security service FSB, for which Mr Litvinenko had previously worked, and the KGB.

Possible motives included Mr Litvinenko’s work for British intelligence after fleeing Russia, his criticism of the FSB and his association with other Russian dissidents, while it said the antagonism between him and Mr Putin also had a “personal dimension”.