London and four European allies have said that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died from poisoning with epibatidine — a very rare neurotoxin found in poison dart frogs in South America. According to the joint statement, laboratory tests on body samples have confirmed the presence of the substance and suggest that poisoning was the most likely cause of death.
Epibatidine is described as an extremely potent natural toxin, which acts on the nervous system and can cause paralysis and respiratory failure. European allies emphasize that this substance does not occur naturally in Russia and that only the Russian state had the “means, motive and opportunity” to use it.
The Kremlin has dismissed the allegations as baseless and part of a political campaign. Russian authorities continue to insist that Navalny died of natural causes, while his wife has said the new findings reinforce her belief that he was murdered.
Navalny died in February 2024 while serving his sentence in an Arctic penal colony. The renewed debate over the cause of death has heightened diplomatic tensions between Russia and Western countries, and the issue is also expected to be discussed in international bodies on chemical weapons.
