Britain and its European allies have formally blamed the Kremlin for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, saying he was killed using a poison developed from a rare dart frog toxin.
Two years after Navalny died in a Siberian penal colony, the UK said analysis of material samples found on his body detected epibatidine, a highly toxic substance derived from poison dart frogs native to northern South America.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said “only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity” to use the poison while Navalny was imprisoned.
A joint statement issued by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands declared: “Only the Russian state had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin to target Navalny during his imprisonment in a Russian penal colony in Siberia, and we hold it responsible for his death.
“Epibatidine can be found naturally in dart frogs in the wild in South America. Dart frogs in captivity do not produce this toxin and it is not found naturally in Russia.
“There is no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny’s body.”
Cooper also said “Russia saw Navalny as a threat.”
“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,” she added.
The UK Foreign Office confirmed it has informed the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of Russia’s alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised Navalny’s “huge courage”, saying “his determination to expose the truth has left an enduring legacy”.
“I am doing whatever it takes to defend our people, our values and our way of life from the threat of Russia and Putin’s murderous intent,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said his country “pays tribute” to Navalny, who he suggested was “killed for his fight in favour of a free and democratic Russia”.
Navalny died suddenly in jail on 16 February 2024 at the age of 47. In 2020, he had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent, received treatment in Germany, and was arrested on his return to Russia.
Toxicology expert Jill Johnson told BBC Russian that epibatidine was “200 times more potent than morphine”. She said it can cause “muscle twitching and paralysis, seizures, slow heart rate, respiratory failure and finally death”.
Johnson described it as an “incredibly rare way to poison a person”, adding: “Finding the wild frog in the correct location that is eating the specific diet to create the correct alkaloids is almost impossible…almost.”
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, had long argued that her husband was poisoned while serving his sentence. Reacting to the latest findings, she said: “I was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof.
“I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth,” she added.
Moscow has rejected the accusations. According to state-run news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: “All the talks and statements are an information campaign aimed at distracting attention from the West’s pressing problems.”
At the time of his death, Navalny had been imprisoned for three years on charges widely regarded as politically motivated. Russian authorities said he took a short walk at his Siberian penal colony, felt unwell, collapsed and never regained consciousness.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
