Russia killed opposition leader Alexei Navalny using toxin from dart frog, UK says

Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was reportedly killed through poisoning with a toxin derived from dart frogs, according to investigations by the UK and several European nations. This conclusion comes two years after his death at a Siberian penal facility, with the implicated toxin, epibatidine, identified in samples taken from Navalny’s body. The UK Foreign Office dismissed any innocent reason for the presence of this rare poison.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, emphasized that only the Russian government possessed the capability, motive, and opportunity to administer such a lethal substance during Navalny’s incarceration. Alongside the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands collectively issued a statement holding the Russian state responsible for his death. The statement highlighted that epibatidine naturally exists only in certain South American dart frogs and is not found in Russia or captive frogs, making its appearance in Navalny’s body deeply suspicious.

Cooper, who also met with Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya at the conference, remarked that Russia viewed Navalny as a threat. She condemned the use of poison as a demonstration of the Russian government’s brutal tactics and its fear of political dissent. Navalnaya herself has long maintained that her husband was deliberately poisoned while imprisoned in an Arctic penal colony in 2024, demanding transparency from the laboratories analyzing the samples. Following the official announcement, she expressed gratitude to the European states for their diligent investigation that ultimately verified her suspicions.

Alexei Navalny, an outspoken anti-corruption activist and prominent critic of the Kremlin, passed away on 16 February 2024 at age 47 while serving a prison sentence. He had previously survived a poisoning attack in 2020 with the nerve agent Novichok, which led to treatment in Germany. Upon returning to Russia, he was immediately detained. At the time of his death, he had spent three years in custody on charges widely regarded as fabricated, and had recently been moved to a penal colony within the Arctic Circle. According to official Russian reports, Navalny collapsed suddenly during a walk and never regained consciousness. The Kremlin has so far not responded to the fresh allegations

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