Vladimir Uglev, a Russian scientist instrumental in the development of the Novichok nerve agent, has died. Uglev had previously accused the Russian government of using the chemical weapon in a "state-level hit" on Britain in 2018.

Uglev died on October 26 in Russia, but his death was only disclosed more than a week later by the independent investigative outlet The Insider. The cause of his death remains unknown, as does the reason for the delay in the announcement.

Novichok, also known as A-234, was developed by a team of Soviet scientists, including Uglev. This nerve agent was later used by Russian agents in the attempted assassination of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, in March 2018. While both survived, British national Dawn Sturgess died after unknowingly coming into contact with the discarded nerve agent.

Uglev stated his certainty that the Salisbury poisoning involved "A-234" and noted that the high purity of the sample suggested it could have been produced by his own hands. He described Novichok as something he knew "like a mother knows her child." Commenting on the Salisbury incident, Uglev characterized it as a "state-level hit" and "a more serious act of terrorism – and one committed against a permanent member of the UN."

Following his public criticism of Russian authorities, Uglev reportedly faced persecution. Shortly after speaking out, he was struck by a car while crossing a pedestrian street near his home in Anapa, sustaining head and arm injuries. Although he initially believed the incident to be accidental, he later experienced smear campaigns, including false allegations of pedophilia, with anonymous posters appearing in his town. Police searched his home and electronic devices but found no evidence. Uglev attributed these actions to Russia's secret services.

He also spoke out about the 2020 poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived the attack but later died in a Russian Arctic penal colony in February 2024. Uglev assisted independent investigators looking into Russian intelligence services' use of chemical weapons. Investigative journalist Christo Grozev noted that while Uglev was responsible for developing the toxin, he later became a vocal critic of its use against civilians and contradicted Kremlin denials in both the Skripal and Navalny cases.

Born in 1946, Uglev trained as a chemist and worked from 1975 to 1990 at a Soviet chemical weapons research facility in the Saratov region, where he developed early versions of Novichok agents. A British public inquiry in December 2025 concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the Salisbury assassination operation.