A statement released by five European countries revealed that Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin using a deadly toxin derived from poison dart frogs’ skin. The foreign ministries of the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands stated that the analysis of samples taken from Navalny, who passed away on February 16, 2024, had definitively confirmed the presence of epibatidine. This toxin, which originates from poison dart frogs in South America and is not naturally occurring in Russia, was identified in Navalny’s samples.
In a joint statement, the five nations pointed out that “Russia had the means, motive, and opportunity to administer this poison.” They announced that they were lodging a complaint against Russia with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for violating the Chemical Weapons Convention. The organization did not immediately respond to this development.
A prominent critic of official corruption and a leading figure in anti-Kremlin demonstrations, Navalny died in a penal colony in the Arctic in February 2024 while serving a 19-year sentence that he believed was politically motivated.
Alexei Navalny, remembered for his strong criticism of President Vladimir Putin, was known for his blog posts exposing corruption and lavish lifestyles of Russia’s elite.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper stated, “Russia viewed Navalny as a threat. By utilizing this type of toxin, the Russian government displayed its deplorable tactics and deep fear of political opposition.”
French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Noël Barrot remarked on social media platform X that Navalny’s poisoning indicated “Vladimir Putin’s willingness to use biological weapons against his own people to maintain power.”
Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, disclosed that two independent laboratories had confirmed her husband’s poisoning shortly before his death. She has consistently held Putin responsible for Navalny’s demise, an accusation that Russian officials vehemently refute.
Navalnaya expressed her unwavering belief that her husband was poisoned from the outset and noted that there is now concrete evidence to support this claim.
She accused Putin of using a chemical weapon to kill Alexei, branding him as “a murderer” who must face justice.
According to Russian authorities, Navalny fell ill after a walk and succumbed to natural causes.
Epibatidine occurs naturally in wild dart frogs and can also be synthesized in a laboratory, a possibility European scientists suspect in Navalny’s case. The toxin acts similarly
