Munich, Germany – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was assassinated using a nerve agent developed from the toxin of dart frogs, according to a joint investigation by the United Kingdom and several European allies. The findings, announced on Saturday , implicate the Russian government in Navalny’s death at a Siberian penal colony nearly two years ago.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, speaking from the Munich Security Conference, stated that “only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity” to deploy the highly lethal toxin while Navalny was imprisoned. The analysis of material samples recovered from Navalny’s body revealed the presence of epibatidine, a potent neurotoxin found in the skin of dart frogs native to South America.
Moscow has dismissed the allegations as an “information campaign,” according to the state-owned Tass news agency. However, Cooper emphasized that there is no plausible explanation for the presence of epibatidine, a substance not naturally occurring in Russia.
The joint statement was issued by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Cooper met with Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, at the conference, underscoring international solidarity with the opposition figure’s family and supporters.
“Russia saw Navalny as a threat,” Cooper said. “By using this form of poison, the Russian state demonstrated the despicable tools it has at its disposal and the overwhelming fear it has of political opposition.”
The allies’ statement affirmed that the Russian state possessed the capability, motivation, and opportunity to utilize the lethal toxin against Navalny during his imprisonment in Siberia, holding Russia directly responsible for his death.
Epibatidine, the toxin identified in the investigation, is reportedly 200 times more potent than morphine. Experts describe it as a neurotoxin that causes paralysis, breathing difficulties, and death. The toxin is naturally found in the skin of dart frogs in South America, but is not produced by frogs in captivity and is absent from the Russian ecosystem.
“There is no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny’s body,” the allied statement declared.
The UK Foreign Office announced that it has informed the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) of Russia’s alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated his commitment to defending British values and countering perceived threats from Russia and President Putin.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot echoed these sentiments, expressing his country’s “homage” to Navalny, whom he described as having been murdered for his advocacy of a free and democratic Russia.
Navalny, a prominent anti-corruption activist and vocal critic of the Kremlin, died suddenly in prison on , at the age of 47. His death sparked international condemnation and renewed scrutiny of human rights conditions in Russia.
This represents not the first instance of alleged poisoning targeting Navalny. In 2020, he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, requiring medical treatment in Germany. He was subsequently arrested upon his return to Russia and sentenced to prison on charges widely considered to be politically motivated.
The investigation into Navalny’s death has been ongoing since his passing. Yulia Navalnaya previously stated that laboratory analysis of biological samples smuggled out of Russia indicated her husband had been deliberately poisoned. She expressed gratitude to European nations for their thorough investigation and for uncovering the truth.
The Kremlin, through spokesperson Maria Zakharova, has dismissed the latest findings as a deliberate attempt to deflect attention from Western issues. President Putin, who rarely mentioned Navalny by name during his lifetime, briefly acknowledged his death a month after it occurred, describing it as a “sad event.”