LONDON
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by the Kremlin with a rare and lethal toxin found in the skin of South American poison dart frogs, five European countries alleged Saturday, in a coordinated diplomatic offensive against Moscow.
The foreign ministries of the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said laboratory analysis of samples taken from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine”—a neurotoxin secreted by dart frogs that is not found naturally in Russia.
In a joint statement, the nations laid out a stark case: “Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison.”
The five countries said they are now reporting Russia to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention. There was no immediate comment from the organization.
The allegations add a new and devastating chapter to the long saga of Navalny, who crusaded against official corruption and staged massive anti-Kremlin protests as President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest foe.
He died in an Arctic penal colony on Feb. 16, 2024, while serving a 19-year sentence that he believed to be politically motivated.
Saturday’s coordinated指控 (accusations) mark the first time European nations have jointly attributed his poisoning to the Kremlin with such specific forensic detail—naming not just the perpetrators, but the exotic poison they allegedly used.
By James Kisoo
