The Kremlin has rejected the claim from several European nations and the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that Moscow silenced the critic using a poisonous substance found in South American dart frogs.
Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands joined Yulia Navalnaya over the weekend to confirm that Navalny — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic — died in a remote Arctic penal colony after being exposed to epibatidine, a toxin 200 times stronger than morphine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, denied the allegations on Monday, asserting that the claims made by the widow were baseless.
“Naturally, we do not accept such accusations. We disagree with them,” Peskov said. “We consider them biased and not based on anything. And we strongly reject them.”
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, also slammed the accusations as “merely propaganda aimed at diverting attention from pressing Western issues,” according to the state TASS news agency.
Zakharova said Moscow would provide more specific comments if and when the countries making the allegations release detailed test results.
Navalny, 47, died on Feb. 16, 2024, with his wife repeatedly alleging that he had been murdered by the Russian state, with the latest testing of his body finally providing the proof she needed.
“Two years. We have attained the truth, and we will also attain justice one day,” Navalnaya wrote on X.
The widow was backed by the five nations who had vowed to help Navalnaya investigate the cause of her husband’s death, with the testing making it clear that the Kremlin were the top suspects.
“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,” the countries said in a joint statement.
“Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” they added.
“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.”
On Monday, a group of 15 countries — including Australia, New Zealand and Canada — issued a statement calling for Russia to conduct a transparent investigation into Navalny’s death.
While the US did not join either announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he does not dispute the findings in Europe.
With Post wires
