Russia “categorically” rejects accusations from European countries that it murdered Navalny with a nerve agent

This Monday, Russian authorities “categorically” rejected accusations from several European countries, including Germany, France and the United Kingdom, that they murdered opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent.

At a press conference from Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dimitri Peskov signaled Russia’s rejection of these serious accusations. “It is very negative. Naturally, we do not accept such accusations; we do not share them,” he indicated.

“We consider them partial and unfounded. And, in fact, we reject them outright,” said the presidential spokesperson in statements collected by the Interfax agency.

Last Saturday, the governments of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Sweden and the Netherlands pointed out the Russian Government for the murder of Navalny, which marks two years this Monday. Specifically, they accused Moscow of an attack with a powerful neurotoxin originating from a dart frog from Ecuador that it allegedly used against Navalni, who was serving a sentence of nearly 30 years in prison at the time of his death.

“This is the conclusion of our governments, which is based on the analyzes of Alexei Navalni’s samples. These analyzes have conclusively confirmed the presence of epibatidine,” in reference to the toxin, the foreign ministers of these five governments have pointed out in an official statement.

Epibatidine is a toxin considered a chemical weapon under international legislation, the five governments highlight, recalling that “it is not found naturally in Russia.” Moscow, remember, stated that Navalny died of natural causes, “but given the toxicity of epibatidine and the symptoms reported, poisoning is the cause of his death with a high probability.”

After his death, both European governments and community institutions denounced the humiliating treatment to which he was subjected during his stay in the Siberian penal colony, where he died on February 16, 2024, pointing out Moscow’s responsibility in the tragic outcome.