ITV is set to air a new drama series on Thursday (December 15) detailing the assassination of former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko. The former KGB agent was murdered in London in 2006 after being unwittingly poisoned with a dose of the radioactive substance polonium-210.
Litvinenko had claimed political asylum in the UK in 2000 after publicly criticising Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime. After a lengthy investigation, it was ruled Russia was directly responsible for Litvinenko’s murder, with the poisoning likely ordered by Putin himself.
The European Court of Human Rights eventually found beyond reasonable doubt that KGB officers Dmitry Kovtun and Andrei Lugovoi poisoned the former Russian agent with the toxic substance which caused his death. The highly-anticipated ITVX drama Litvinenko explores the events and aftermath of the now-infamous murder up to present day, and was produced with direct involvement from Alexander’s surviving wife, Marina.
