Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed using a poison derived from a dart frog toxin, the UK and several European allies have said, blaming the Kremlin for his death following a two-year investigation.
Britain and its partners said analysis of material samples found on Navalny’s body showed the presence of epibatidine, an extremely rare neurotoxin, after he died in a Siberian penal colony in February 2024.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said “only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity” to deploy the poison while Navalny was imprisoned in Russia.
Moscow has rejected the findings. According to the state-run Tass news agency, Russian officials dismissed the conclusions as “an information campaign”. Cooper said there was no innocent explanation for the toxin’s presence.
A joint statement issued by the UK, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands said: “Only the Russian state had the means, motive and opportunity to deploy this lethal toxin to target Navalny during his imprisonment in a Russian penal colony in Siberia, and we hold it responsible for his death.
“Epibatidine can be found naturally in dart frogs in the wild in South America. Dart frogs in captivity do not produce this toxin and it is not found naturally in Russia.
“There is no innocent explanation for its presence in Navalny’s body.”
Cooper met Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, at the conference over the weekend.
“Russia saw Navalny as a threat,” Cooper said.
“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,” she added.
The UK Foreign Office said it had informed the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of Russia’s alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer praised Navalny’s “huge courage”, saying his “determination to expose the truth has left an enduring legacy”.
“I am doing whatever it takes to defend our people, our values and our way of life from the threat of Russia and Putin’s murderous intent,” he added.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France “pays tribute” to Navalny, describing him as someone who was “killed for his fight in favour of a free and democratic Russia”.
Navalny, an anti-corruption campaigner and Russia’s most prominent opposition figure, died suddenly in custody on 16 February 2024 at the age of 47.
He had previously survived poisoning with a Novichok nerve agent in 2020, receiving treatment in Germany before being arrested on his return to Russia.
‘Extremely Rare’ Toxin
Epibatidine, the toxin identified by the UK and its allies, was first derived from a group of poison dart frogs native to northern South America.
Although it has been studied as a potential painkiller, it was deemed too toxic for clinical use.
Speaking to BBC Russian, toxicology expert Jill Johnson said the substance was “200 times more potent than morphine”.
By acting on receptors in the central nervous system, she said it can cause “muscle twitching and paralysis, seizures, slow heart rate, respiratory failure and finally death”.
Johnson described it as an “incredibly rare way to poison a person”, explaining that it is only found in one wild frog species and only under highly specific dietary conditions.
Before Saturday’s announcement, Navalnaya had repeatedly said she believed her husband was poisoned while serving a prison sentence in an Arctic penal colony.
Reacting to the findings, she said: “I was certain from the first day that my husband had been poisoned, but now there is proof.
“I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth,” she added.
Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the allegations were intended to distract from problems in the West. Russian President Vladimir Putin briefly referred to Navalny a month after his death, saying a person’s passing was “always a sad event”.
Russian authorities have said Navalny collapsed after feeling unwell following a short walk at the penal colony and never regained consciousness.
