Alexander Litvinenko: Russian man accused of posioning former spy dies from Covid

One of the two Russian men accused of poisoning former spy Alexander Litvinenko has reportedly died of Covid.

Dmitry Kovtun, who was accused by Britain of assassinating the Kremlin critic in 2006, has passed away at a Moscow hospital, according to reports from the TASS news agency. 

British citizen Litvinenko had died a number of weeks after being poisoned with radioactive polonium-210. It was suspected he had been targeted on behalf of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

He had met with Kovton and another suspect, Andrei Lugovoy, who is now a Russian member of parliament, at the London Millennium Hotel.

Investigators discovered traces of the poison across London at locations where the pair had visited, including offices, hotels and the Arsenal football stadium. 

The pair denied any involvement in Litvinenko’s death and Russia had refused to extradite them to the UK for a trial. 

Litvinenko had worked for MI6 after working for the KGB and had spoken out against Russian President Valdimir Putin.