Casualties of the new Cold War
EVEN BY THE STANDARDS OF SPY VS. SPY INTRIGUE, THIS WAS A SHOCKING INCIDENT.
In 2006, former Soviet spy and then- Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko suddenly took ill in the United Kingdom. Litvinenko had been living in London for some time. There, he had provided co- operation to British intelligence services, had worked with other Russian dissidents and had been an outspoken critic of Russia’s then ( and now) president, Vladimir Putin. Litvinenko’s condition rapidly worsened. He died a slow, horrible death, remarkably, of radiation poisoning. Radiation exposure is not something that just happens as you go about your daily life. Officials quickly concluded that Litvinenko had been deliberately poisoned. Authorities soon identified two suspects: Russian men with believed links to that country’s intelligence agencies.
This week, a British report into Litvinenko’s death was released. The report concluded that the two suspects, Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoy, did indeed poison Litvinenko with polonium-210, a radioactive substance that is extremely hard to obtain without state support. It further found that Russian intelligence was almost certainly behind the operation. And it went a step further: it personally identified Putin as the likely source of the order to kill Litvinenko. At the very least, the court found, he would have been aware of the plan.
In a sense, that shouldn’t surprise anyone. For years, Putin’s political opponents have found themselves coming to bad ends. Some have been ruined financially by government interference in their business enterprises. Others have gone to prison on questionable convictions. The least fortunate, such as Litvinenko and Boris Nemtsov, an opposition leader gunned down just steps from the Kremlin last year, have been silenced forever.
Still, it was startling to hear the leader of a major international power, one that at least pretends to respect the law, being directly implicated in the targeted assassination of an old rival and personal enemy in a foreign country. Litvinenko was not a terrorist leader targeted for a drone strike because he posed an immediate threat to anyone, or any country’s security. He was a critic of a regime who worked with other critics of a regime and was allegedly murdered by that regime as a consequence.
Even by the standards of international spy vs. spy intrigue, this was a shocking incident.
The Russians, of course, dismiss the investigation as politicized ( indeed, so was the murder). They say they will reply in due time through diplomatic channels. British Prime Minister David Cameron has for his part said, correctly, that his country will continue to have diplomatic contact with Russia — because it must. Britain and Russia are simply too large and too important to ignore each other, especially because both have combat forces operating in close proximity to each other in the Middle East. But Cameron noted that Britain is not forgetting the incident. It will deal with Russia only with “clear eyes and a very cold heart,” Cameron said.
That’s a fine place to begin. But there is more t han can be done. Russia cannot be completely excluded from the international community, but Britain should continue to seek the extradition of Kovtun and Logovoy. It’s unlikely to lead to anything, but it may at least impose some limits on their ability to travel freely. Britain should also seek, in cooperation with its allies, including Canada, to step up the targeted sanctions and movement restrictions on other member of Putin’s inner circle, including Putin himself
The West has already applied various economic costs to Russia for its actions in recent years, notably its activities in Ukraine, and those sanctions should be maintained. When possible, they should be ramped up.
It is frustrating to acknowledge the sad reality that Putin is unlikely to ever face a court for this accusation.
But that is no excuse not to try. Litvinenko may never receive justice, but the West can at least ensure that he is not soon forgotten.