Five European countries: 'Navalny poisoned by Russia with a rare toxin'
According to the UK Foreign Office, the leader of the opposition to Putin was poisoned with epibatidine, a lethal toxic neurotoxin found in arrow frogs living in Ecuador
Russian opponent Alexei Navalny,, who died in a prison camp two years ago, was murdered by the Russian state with a "rare toxin": the governments of Germany, France, Britain, Sweden andThe Netherlandsin a joint statement on the sidelines of the Munich Conference. "We know that the Russian state used this lethal toxin to target Navalny, fearing his opposition," the British Foreign Office said. London reported Moscow to the global chemical weapons control body.
Lethal toxin from Ecuador's arrow frogs
The details of the poisoning come from the Foreign Office, the British Foreign Office. According to the UK, Navalny was poisoned with epibatidine, a lethal neurotoxin found in arrow frogs that live in Ecuador. Indigenous tribes in South America use the toxin in blowguns during hunting. This poison is 200 times stronger than morphine. The conclusions of the investigation will be submitted to the UN chemical weapons control body, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The UK and its allies have been working 'with iron determination' to establish what really happened to Navalny, said British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.
The widow: "Not words but scientific proof"
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian dissident, attended a press conference on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich to announce the discovery, joined by the foreign ministers of the UK, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The four countries, plus France, collaborated to establish the cause of death of Navalny, who was 47 years old. ''It is difficult for me to find the right words,'' Navalnya said. She was at the Munich Security Conference when the news of her husband's death broke on 16 February 2024. ''It was the most horrible day of my life. I went on stage and said that my husband, Alexei Navalny, had been poisoned. What else could have happened with Putin's number one enemy in a Russian prison? But now I understand and know that this is not just words. It is scientific proof,' she said.
Von der Leyen: cowardly act, Russia acts like a terrorist state
"Five European nations have established that Russia poisoned Alexei Navalny. This was a cowardly act by a frightened leader. Russia has long acted as a terrorist state, relying on terrorist methods. By poisoning political opponents. By silencing journalists. Invading peaceful countries'. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote this on X. "This is the true face of Russia today. We honour the memory of Alexei Navalny and all those whom Putin's Russia has violently silenced over the years," she added.
