Putin had arch-nemesis Alexei Navalny killed utilizing poison from South American dart frog that’s classed as a chemical weapon, says Overseas Workplace

[ad_1] Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny was killed by the Russian state, the Overseas Workplace has revealed.

Navalny's demise was the results of poison from a South American dart frog toxin referred to as epibatidine.

The politician died aged 47 whereas in a distant Arctic penal colony two years in the past. He had been sentenced to many years of imprisonment on doubtful embezzlement prices.

His demise was introduced by the Russian state on February 16, 2024. On the time, his allies accused the Kremlin of murdering Navalny due to the political menace he posed.

The toxin epibatidine is claimed to be 200 occasions stronger than morphine and is utilized by some indigenous tribes in South America in darts or blowguns throughout hunts. It assaults nerves, inflicting numbness and paralysis.

It isn't clear how the frog poison was allegedly administered to Navalny.

The UK and its allies Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands stated the 'barbaric' act - utilizing a neurotoxin that's classed as a chemical weapon - might solely have been carried out by Vladimir Putin's authorities.

In a press release launched by the Overseas Workplace together with different European nations, a spokesperson stated: 'The UK, Sweden , France , Germany and the Netherlands are assured that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a deadly toxin.

Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny makes a coronary heart together with his arms as he seems in court docket in Moscow on February 2, 2021

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Navalny, is seen in St Mary's Church in Berlin after lighting a candle on what would have been her husband's birthday in June 2024

Navalny is pictured together with his spouse after a rally in Moscow, Russia, in September 2013

<img id="i-d693c96258e38c80" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/02/14/13/106386657-15559757-image-a-39_1771074587926.jpg" height="423" width="634" alt="The UK and its allies Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands said the 'barbaric' act - using a neurotoxin that is classed as a chemical weapon - could only have been carried out by Vladimir Putin's (pictured) government" class="blkBorder img-share" style="max-width:100%" loading="lazy" /> The UK and its allies Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands stated the 'barbaric' act - utilizing a neurotoxin that's classed as a chemical weapon - might solely have been carried out by Vladimir Putin's (pictured) authorities

Navalny's demise was the results of poison from a South American dart frog toxin referred to as epibatidine (Pictured: Ecuadorian poison dart frog)

'That is the conclusion of our Governments based mostly on analyses of samples from Alexei Navalny. These analyses have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.

'Epibatidine is a toxin present in poison dart frogs in South America. It isn't discovered naturally in Russia .

'Russia claimed that Navalny died of pure causes. However given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported signs, poisoning was extremely probably the reason for his demise. Navalny died whereas held in jail, which means Russia had the means, motive and alternative to manage this poison to him.'

The assertion added that 'solely the Russian state had the mixed means, motive and disrespect for worldwide legislation to hold out the assaults'.

The Overseas Workplace additionally insisted that Russia had not destroyed all of its chemical weapons, as Moscow claimed it had performed in 2017, and highlighted once more the Salisbury poisonings which occurred on UK soil in 2018.

Navalny was serving a 19-year sentence on prices of extremism, having campaigned towards official corruption and led main anti-Kremlin protests.

Following the announcement, his widow, Yulia Navalnaya stated she had 'at all times been sure' her husband had been poisoned, hailing the European allies for offering 'proof'.

She stated: 'Scientists from 5 European nations have established: my husband, Alexei Navalny, was poisoned with epibatidine — a neurotoxin, one of many deadliest poisons on earth.

'In nature, this poison will be discovered on the pores and skin of the Ecuadorian dart frog. It causes paralysis, respiratory arrest, and a painful demise.

'I used to be sure from the primary day that my husband had been poisoned, however now there may be proof: Putin killed Alexei with chemical weapon.

'I'm grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the reality. Vladimir Putin is a assassin. He should be held accountable for all his crimes.'

It isn't clear how the frog poison was allegedly administered to Mr Navalny (Pictured throughout his imprisonment)

Yulia Navalnaya attends the 2024 Munich Safety Convention on the day Russia introduced her husband's demise

Ms Navalnaya meets with the British Overseas Secretary Yvette Cooper on the Munich Safety Convention on Saturday

The Overseas Secretary embraces Ms Navalnaya on the Munich Safety Convention at this time

British Overseas Secretary Yvette Cooper has met with Mr Navalny's widow Ms Navalnaya on the Munich Safety Convention this weekend.

Ms Navalnaya introduced her husband's demise on the gathering in 2024.

Ms Cooper stated: 'Since Yulia Navalnaya introduced the lack of her husband right here in Munich two years in the past, the UK has pursued the reality of Alexei Navalny's demise with fierce dedication

'Solely the Russian authorities had the means, motive and alternative to deploy this deadly toxin towards Alexei Navalny throughout his imprisonment in Russia.

'At the moment, beside his widow, the UK is shining a lightweight on the Kremlin's barbaric plot to silence his voice.

'Russia noticed Navalny as a menace. By utilizing this type of poison the Russian state demonstrated the despicable instruments it has at its disposal and the overwhelming worry it has of political opposition.'

Final yr Ms Navalnaya stated the Kremlin's declare that he died of pure causes was a lie.

She stated two impartial laboratories had confirmed he was poisoned. Ms Navalnaya didn't present particulars on the poison allegedly used, on the samples or on the evaluation – however challenged the laboratories to publish their outcomes.

In a video posted to social media on the time she stated: 'I can't keep silent. I assert that Vladimir Putin is accountable for the homicide of my husband, Alexei Navalny.'

Navalny's demise whereas in Russian detention was introduced on February 16, 2024

Navalny takes half in a march at Strastnoy Boulevard in reminiscence of Russian politician and opposition chief Boris Nemtsov in 2019

The Overseas Workplace launched a press release alongside the UK's European allies Sweden, France Germany and the Netherlands

What's the lethal toxin epibatidine? A tiny poison dart frog such because the Ecuadorian produces some of the highly effective pure painkillers ever found, however the substance is so deadly that it has by no means grow to be a medication.

Epibatidine is extremely poisonous - as much as 200 occasions stronger than morphine.

It's discovered within the striped pores and skin of the poison frog Epipedobates tricolor.

The poison is barely discovered from frogs within the wild - it's shaped by way of their food plan of beetles, ants, mites and flies after which saved of their pores and skin.

When the frogs are reared in captivity, they produce no epibatidine.

The compound was first remoted within the Seventies by the American chemist John W Daly from frog pores and skin extracts.

Laboratory testing revealed extraordinary efficiency - scientists have been unable to harness its potential, with a tiny hole between an efficient dose and a life-threatening one.

In the usual 'scorching plate' check, rats positioned on a heated floor usually leap into the air in ache.

A dose of round 1 milligram of morphine per kilogram of physique weight permits the rat to face up to the burning warmth.

The identical impact will be achieved with simply 5 micrograms per kilogram of epibatidine, making it roughly 200 occasions stronger than morphine.

One frog's price dose is sufficient to kill a water buffalo, and poisonous publicity triggers a speedy and sometimes deadly response starting with intense sweating and muscle tremors, progressing to extreme seizures, full paralysis, and an lack of ability to breathe.

Lack of consciousness and demise follows.

There may be, although, an antidote - mecamylamine, which is normally used to deal with extreme hypertension.

She added: 'The killers labored rigorously to erase traces, however we managed to protect some proof. We had been capable of receive samples of Alexei's organic materials and securely smuggle them overseas. Labs in at the very least two nations examined these samples independently of one another. And these labs ... reached the identical conclusion: Alexei was killed. Extra particularly, he was poisoned.'

Denying allegations that he was murdered, the Kremlin blamed his demise on a sudden spike in blood strain and power ailments.

Beforehand, Ms Navalnaya has accused unnamed western nations of attempting to hush up the true explanation for her husband's demise on account of 'political' issues.

'They would not need the inconvenient fact to come back out on the mistaken second,' she stated.

'I demand that the labs that performed the analyses publish their outcomes. Cease pandering to Putin on account of so-called increased issues. You'll not appease him. So long as you stay silent, he is not going to cease. I demand full public disclosure of the outcomes exhibiting precisely what poison was used towards my husband.'

Joe Biden, who was US president when Navalny died, stated shortly after his physique was found that there might be little question that Putin was accountable.

Ms Navalnaya, who has lived exterior Russia for years, printed images of the cell the place her husband died. They confirmed vomit and a few of Navalny's private gadgets, together with an English-Russian dictionary and his mittens. 'That is the place his homicide occurred,' she stated.

Within the video, Ms Navalnaya additionally detailed her husband's final days based mostly on what she stated was testimony by staff on the penal colony.

On the day he died, she stated, her husband was taken out for a stroll however felt sick. When he was taken again to his cell 'he lay down on the ground, pulled his knees up, and began moaning in ache... then he began vomiting.

'Alexei was having convulsions... the jail guards watched [his] agony via the bars of the cell window.'

An ambulance wasn't referred to as till 40 minutes later Navalny turned sick. He died shortly afterwards. Jail authorities instructed his mom Lyudmila that her son had skilled 'sudden demise syndrome'.

Putin, who studiously prevented naming Navalny whereas he was alive, briefly referred to him a month after his demise by stating that an individual passing was 'at all times a tragic occasion'.

Final yr Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya stated the Kremlin's declare that he died of pure causes was a lie

Reacting to the assertion from the UK and allies at this time, Ms Navalnaya stated she was 'grateful' to have 'proof' her husband had been poisoned

<img id="i-86f6a5fb0c3d6db4" src="https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/02/14/11/106385369-15559757-image-a-22_1771069430680.jpg" height="414" width="634" alt="Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's parents Anatoly and Lyudmila, accompanied by Alla Abrosimova, who is the mother of Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya, come to Navalny's grave to mark the first anniversary of his death at a cemetery in Moscow in February 2025" class="blkBorder img-share" style="max-width:100%" loading="lazy" /> Russian opposition chief Alexei Navalny's dad and mom Anatoly and Lyudmila, accompanied by Alla Abrosimova, who's the mom of Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya, come to Navalny's grave to mark the primary anniversary of his demise at a cemetery in Moscow in February 2025

After Navalny's demise, folks gathered throughout Europe to mourn (Pictured: Mourners on the Russian embassy in Warsaw, Poland)

Official Russian paperwork leaked in 2024 and printed by a Russian opposition web site confirmed that Navalny had signs according to poisoning earlier than his demise. The paperwork additionally appeared to point out that officers had tried to cowl up the reason for demise.

An anti-corruption activist who led the most important protests of Putin's 26-year rule, Navalny was extensively seen as the one determine with sufficient standing and charisma to unite Russia's fragmented opposition motion. In his remaining court docket appearances he spoke out towards the struggle in Ukraine and urged Russians to stand up.

Navalny survived a earlier assassination try in 2020 when FSB safety service brokers poisoned him in Siberia with a Soviet-era nerve agent.

After worldwide strain, Putin allowed him to be airlifted to a clinic in Berlin for therapy. He returned to Moscow in January 2021, the place he was arrested as quickly as his plane touched down. It was his final day as a free man earlier than his demise.

The Kremlin initially insisted on a secret burial for Navalny over fears {that a} public funeral might result in a present of dissent. His aged mom, Lyudmila, was pressured to trudge in sub-zero temperatures between Arctic morgues to attempt to find his physique. 'Time shouldn't be in your aspect, corpses decompose,' she is claimed to have been instructed.

After an outcry, the Kremlin ultimately launched Navalny's physique and he was buried at Moscow's Borisovskoye cemetery. His funeral service turned an opposition rally, considered the most important for the reason that begin of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Nonetheless, since Navalny's demise his exiled allies at his anti-corruption basis (FBK) opposition motion have struggled to stay related inside Russia and have misplaced the backing of key monetary sponsors. Final month Ivan Zhdanov, the FBK's director, left his publish. He stated: 'It isn't the identical in any respect with out Alexei.'

The Russian authorities have beforehand strenuously denied any involvement in his demise.

Overseas Workplace assertion on Navalny's demise in FULL 'The UK, Sweden, France, Germany and The Netherlands are assured that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a deadly toxin.

'That is the conclusion of our Governments based mostly on analyses of samples from Alexei Navalny. These analyses have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine.

'Epibatidine is a toxin present in poison dart frogs in South America. It isn't discovered naturally in Russia.

'Russia claimed that Navalny died of pure causes. However given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported signs, poisoning was extremely probably the reason for his demise. Navalny died whereas held in jail, which means Russia had the means, motive and alternative to manage this poison to him.

'Russia's repeated disregard for worldwide legislation and the Chemical Weapons Conference is evident.

'In August 2020 the UK, Sweden, France, Germany, The Netherlands and companions condemned Russia's use of novichok to poison Alexei Navalny.

'This adopted Russia's use of novichok in Salisbury in 2018, which led to the tragic demise of a British lady, Daybreak Sturgess.

'In each circumstances, solely the Russian state had the mixed means, motive and disrespect for worldwide legislation to hold out the assaults.

'These newest findings as soon as once more underline the necessity to maintain Russia accountable for its repeated violations of the Chemical Weapons Conference and, on this occasion, the Organic and Toxin Weapons Conference.

'Our Everlasting Representatives to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have written at this time to the Director Normal to tell him of this Russian breach of the Chemical Weapons Conference.