A British judge said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin "probably approved" a plan to poison ex-KBG agent Alexander Litvinenko.
Litvinenko died nearly 10 years ago after drinking a cup of tea that judge Robert Owen said was laced with the rare radioactive isotope polonium-210. From his death bed, Litvinenko accused Putin of ordering his assassination.
In a long-awaited report, Owen said Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi, two Russian former KGB agents, carried out the killing and probably did so under the direction of Russia's FSB security service.
The two men confirmed meeting with Litvinenko in London on several occasions, including at the time of the suspected poisoning, but deny any involvement in his death. Russia has refused to extradite them.
After the report's release Thursday, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Lugovoi as calling the British inquiry nonsense and saying it was politically motivated.