The United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands stated that Alexei Navalny, one of the Kremlin’s main opponents, died after being poisoned with a rare toxin found in South American frogs. The conclusion was released in a statement at the Munich Security Conference. The countries were based on laboratory analyzes carried out with samples taken from the body of the former Russian politician.
According to European governments, the tests confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a highly lethal substance that is not found naturally in Russia. For these countries, the Russian government “had the means, the motive and the opportunity” to administer the poison while Navalny was in custody. The opponent died two years ago in a penal colony in the Arctic, where he was serving his sentence.
Navalny was considered the main leader of the opposition to President Vladimir Putin and gained international recognition due to allegations of corruption involving high-ranking Russian government officials. Russia repeatedly denies any involvement in the opponent’s death and rejects the accusations made by European countries.
