Britain blames Russia for poisoning Alexei Navalny with dart frog toxin

Britain has blamed the Kremlin for killing opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which it said was likely done using a poison developed from a dart frog toxin.

Two years on from the death of Mr Navalny at a Siberian penal colony, the UK and its allies have pinned the blame on the Russian state following analysis of material samples found on his body.

The Russian authorities have previously strenuously denied any involvement in his death.

There is no innocent explanation for the toxin Epibatidine being found on Mr Navalny’s body, the Foreign Office said.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has met with Mr Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya at the Munich Security Conference this weekend.

Mrs Navalnaya announced her husband’s death at the gathering in 2024.

Ms Cooper said: “Since Yulia Navalnaya announced the loss of her husband here in Munich two years ago, the UK has pursued the truth of Alexei Navalny’s death with fierce determination

“Only the Russian Government had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia.

“Today, beside his widow, the UK is shining a light on the Kremlin’s barbaric plot to silence his voice.

“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.”

A joint statement by the British Government and its allies in Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands said the nations “are confident that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a lethal toxin”.

It added: “This is the conclusion of our Governments based on analyses of samples from Alexei Navalny.

“These analyses have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.

“Epibatidine is a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America.

“It is not found naturally in Russia.

“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.”

The allies also pointed to an attempt to poison Mr Navalny with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020, which followed the Salisbury poisonings in 2018.

“Russia’s repeated disregard for international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention is clear,” the five nations said.

They added: “In both cases, only the Russian state had the combined means, motive and disregard for international law to carry out the attacks.”

The Foreign Office also insisted that Russia had not destroyed all of its chemical weapons, as Moscow claimed it had done in 2017.

Britain will continue to expose the Kremlin’s use of chemical and biological weapons, the Foreign Office added.