The Council of the European Union has imposed sanctions on six Russian nationals involved in the development of chemical weapons — primarily the synthesis of epibatidine, a toxin found in opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s body after his death in a penal colony in February 2024, as The Insider previously revealed. According to the EU’s assessment, epibatidine poisoning was the most likely cause of the political prisoner’s death.
Four employees of the Signal Research Center were sanctioned: laboratory head Igor Babkin, senior researchers Sergei Galan and Olga Yudina, and researcher Alexei Aksyonov. All of them, according to EU data, conducted research and published papers on the synthesis of epibatidine, directly participating in its development as a chemical weapon. All are also linked to Signal Research Center director Artur Zhirov.
In addition, sanctions were imposed against Irina Derevyagina, a chemical analyst at GosNIIOKhT (the institute that plays a central role in Russia’s chemical weapons program), and Mikhail Gutsalyuk, head of the department for organizing scientific work and training scientific and pedagogical personnel at the Military Academy of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense.
In total, 31 individuals and 6 organizations are now subject to EU sanctions pertaining to the use and proliferation of chemical weapons. Those on the list have their assets frozen and are prohibited from direct or indirect provision of funds and economic resources. The individuals are also barred from entering the European Union.
The efforts of Igor Babkin and Mikhail Gutsalyuk were detailed in The Insider’s investigation into the synthesis of epibatidine. It was established that the Signal Research Center employees were engaged in synthesizing the poison, while its components were imported into Russia by ABCR Khemi Rus, a company 90% owned by the German firm abcr GmbH.
