Five Western European nations — the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands — have released a joint assessment concluding that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed by poisoning with a rare toxin while imprisoned in Russia.
According to the joint statement, laboratory analysis of samples from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine,” a lethal neurotoxin naturally found in South American poison dart frogs but not native to Russia. European officials argue that only the Russian state had the means, motive, and opportunity to administer such a poison to Navalny while he was held in an Arctic penal colony.
Navalny died in February 2024 during a 19-year prison sentence that critics and international observers say was politically driven. European leaders declared Russia’s alleged use of an exotic toxin a breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention and have reported the matter to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for further action.
The report also highlighted Russia’s record of chemical attacks, including the 2018 poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal. Russia has denied responsibility for Navalny’s death and described the allegations as Western propaganda, rejecting claims it used a toxin to kill a political opponent.
Navalny was a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for exposing corruption and leading mass protests. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has long insisted he was murdered, and welcomed the European findings as confirmation of her claims.
This development adds to growing international pressure on Russia over human rights abuses and alleged suppression of political dissent.
