On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference last weekend, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom said analyses of samples from Navalny’s body detected epibatidine, a highly toxic substance derived from the poison of South American dart frogs.
“Given the toxicity of epibatidine and the reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death,” the joint statement said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova had also dismissed the claims over the weekend, calling them “merely propaganda aimed at diverting attention from pressing Western issues.”
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, told attendees at the POLITICO Pub in Munich last weekend: “He was killed. He was very young — less than 50. He spent his last years in torturous conditions … Putin killed him.” She thanked the countries that supported the forensic investigation.
Navalny had survived an attempted poisoning in 2020, which he said was carried out by Russia’s internal security service, the FSB. Russia denied involvement.