It is “highly likely” that Russian opposition leader Alexei Nalvany was killed by a rare toxin found in poison dart frogs, five European nations said in a statement Saturday, adding that Russia had the “means, motive, and opportunity” to administer the deadly dose when Navalny died in an Arctic prison two years ago.
The statement issued by the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Germany was timed to coincide with the Munich Security Conference — the same venue his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, was about to attend when she heard of his death in 2024.
The statement said the allies were “confident that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin” following analysis of samples from him that confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a substance found in poison dart frogs in South America. It is not found naturally in Russia despite Moscow’s claims that Nalvany died of “natural causes,” the statement said.
“Given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death. Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” the allies said.
Nalvany, an opposition leader who was one of the few figures to pose a threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin, died suddenly in an Arctic prison colony in February 2024. His death sent shock waves across Russiaand around the world and was condemned as state-sponsored murder.
A day earlier, he had appeared in a court hearing by video link and seemed in good health. His family, who continued to run his political operation in exile, had long warned his life was in danger after he had been poisoned with a banned nerve agent in Germany.
“I was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof: Putin killed Alexei with chemical weapon,” Navalnaya said in a statement Saturday. “I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth. Vladimir Putin is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes.”
Saturday’s announcement follows a statement from Nalvanaya in September, when she said she had evidence for the first time from two Western laboratories that her husband had been poisoned before his death.
The five countries said they had written to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to inform it of the findings.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the U.K. had sought to investigate the cause of Nalvany’s death since Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband in Munich two years ago: “Russia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this form of poison, the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.”
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