Aleksei Navalny Likely Poisoned With Rare South American Frog Toxin, European Governments Say

‎Foreign ministries from Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands announced in a joint statement Saturday that Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny was likely poisoned by a toxin originating from a frog species found in South America. Navalny died while in prison two years earlier.

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‎Joint European investigation states Alexei Navalny’s body contained epibatidine toxin, strengthening allegations surrounding his prison death in Russia.

‎James Hill/The New York Times

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‎The statement said toxicology testing on biological samples from Navalny’s remains identified epibatidine, a dangerous chemical compound.

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‎Authorities noted that epibatidine exists naturally in poison dart frogs from South America and is not naturally present within Russia.

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‎The discovery challenges Russia’s official account that Navalny died of natural health-related causes. When he died in 2024, Navalny was considered the most prominent critic of the Russian government and was serving time in a maximum-security prison facility located in the Arctic.

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‎At the Munich Security Conference, Yulia Navalnaya spoke to reporters, calling the report confirmation of what Navalny’s team has argued for years — that Russian President Vladimir V. Putin was directly responsible for the death.

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‎She stated that Navalny was killed using a chemical weapon and said the findings provide another direct form of proof. She added that accusations against Putin are not new but said the report further supports them.