Russia's most prominent opposition politician Alexei Navalny was hospitalised after a suspected case of poisoning last week.
The Kremlin opposition politician became ill on a plane and lost consciousnesses. He is now where he is in a critical but stable condition.
In 2018, a historic assassination attempt of a former informant in the UK, which Russia denies, became an even more tragic story when a British mother was killed instead.
Dawn Sturgess was just 44 when she died after spraying herself with perfume.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in September 2019. Source: EPA
The mother of three was an unwitting victim of an assassination attempt in 2018, which saw Sergei Skripal and his daughter poisoned with Novichok - a nerve agent developed in Russia.
Sergei Skripal was a former Russian military officer and double agent for the UK's intelligence services. Police charged two Russian men, using the names Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, for the poisoning.
Sergi, and his daughter Yulia Skripal, were both found slumped on a bench in Salisbury and ended up in intensive care for weeks. Miraculously, they both survived.
Tragically, the story doesn’t end there.
Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in March 2018. Source: AAP
Four months after the assassination attempt, Dawn Sturgess and her partner Charlie Rowley came into contact with Novichok.
Charlie gave Dawn a perfume bottle he found, that he believed looked expensive.
What he did not know was that those who had tried to kill Sergei Skripal had used the container to transport Novichok into the UK.
Dawn sprayed the perfume on herself and collapsed at Mr Rowley's flat in Amesbury, which is near Salisbury. Her partner was also hospitalised. She died shortly after.
The family had to wait one month before it was safe to hold a funeral for Dawn. The decontamination of Salisbury and nearby Amesbury took nearly a year to complete.
Charlie Rowley (right) with partner Dawn Sturgess (left) who died after being exposed to the nerve agent. Source: AAP/ITV image brag
Even the Prime Minister at the time, Theresa May, said she was “appalled and shocked” at the tragic events, and sent her “thoughts and condolences” to Dawn's family.
The UK government has blamed Russia for the attack on the pair in March, but the country's authorities deny any involvement.
Authorities said the assassination attempt put at risk hundreds of Brits.
The Salisbury Poisonings premieres at 8.30pm on Monday 24 August on SBS and SBS On Demand, and screens over four consecutive nights till Thursday 27 August.
