European nations: Kremlin murdered Navalny with lethal frog toxin

Forensic analyses indicate that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died two years ago in an Arctic penal colony, was killed with a powerful frog toxin, European governments said on Saturday, directly accusing the Kremlin of murder.

Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom allege that analyses of Navalny’s remains showed traces of the highly potent toxin epibatidine.

“Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death. Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” a joint statement said.

The announcement was made by German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul and his counterparts on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, where dozens of world leaders and top defence officials have gathered for three days of talks.

Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who was present at the announcement, said the findings proved that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a murderer.

Wadephul said the new analyses had clarified the cause of death. “Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Russian custody,” he said.

According to the German minister, the remains contained epibatidine, an extremely potent nerve toxin first discovered in the skin secretions of certain poison dart frogs in Ecuador.

He said the substance – which can also be produced in laboratories – is about 200 times stronger than morphine and paralyses the respiratory muscles, causing victims to suffocate.

It was not immediately clear when, where or how the analyses were carried out.

When asked by a journalist why the analyses, in which France had also participated, had taken so long, Wadephul said that it had been a complicated process that required coordination with various European partners.

Navalny’s death in February 2024 prompted international condemnation and accusations from Western governments that the Kremlin was responsible.

Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in his death.

“No one except Putin’s henchmen will be able to tell us exactly what happened on February 16, 2024 in the Russian penal colony,” said Wadephul. “One thing is clear: the Russian authorities had the motive and the means to administer the poison to Navalny.”

Navalny, he said, was not only the courageous face of the Russian opposition but had previously survived a poisoning attempt. After receiving treatment at Berlin’s Charité, he returned to Russia despite the risks.

Navalny’s death, which marks its second anniversary this Monday, remains a bitter blow for all people, especially in Russia, who have not given up hope for a free country, Wadephul said.

“Putin tramples on international law and humanity every day, and not just in Ukraine,” he added.

The German minister also accused Putin of disregarding the Chemical Weapons Convention, and said the director general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been informed of the findings.

Meanwhile, Navalnaya thanked the laboratories in Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands that participated in the analyses.

She said learning of her husband’s death had been the hardest day of her life, and that she knew he had been murdered.

“What else could have happened to a young, charismatic opposition leader in Putin’s prison?” she asked.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “We are here today to shine a spotlight on the Kremlin’s barbaric attempt to silence Alexei Navalny’s voice.”

Her Swedish counterpart Maria Stenergard added that it was “extremely important in order to be able to hold Russia accountable for what they have been doing.”