According to analyses, Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny is said to have been killed with a nerve agent.Image: sda
Feb 14, 2026, 1:59 p.mFeb 14, 2026, 2:14 p.m
According to analyzes, Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian custody two years ago, was killed with a powerful nerve agent. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) and his colleagues from Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands accused Russia of killing the Kremlin critic. The widow Yulia Navalnaya, who was present, said on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference that there was now proof that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin was a murderer.
At a sensational appearance at the Munich Security Conference almost exactly two years ago, Navalnaya called for a fight against Putin’s Russian power apparatus in light of reports of her husband’s death.
Wadephul now said that two years later we knew: “Alexei Navalny was poisoned in Russian captivity.” His remains contained a particularly powerful neurotoxin, epibaditin. The effect of the poison found in the skin gland secretion of tree dart frogs in Ecuador, so-called poison dart frogs, is 200 times as strong as morphine. “It paralyzes the respiratory muscles and the victims suffocate in agony,” said Wadephul. It initially remained unclear when, where and how exactly the analyzes were carried out.
“One thing is clear: the Russian authorities had the opportunity, the motive and the means to administer the poison to Navalny.”
“No one except Putin’s henchmen will be able to tell us exactly how February 16, 2024 went down in the Russian penal colony,” said Wadephul. “One thing is clear: the Russian authorities had the opportunity, the motive and the means to administer the poison to Navalny.” Navalny was not only the brave face of the Russian opposition, but was also the victim of a devious poison attack. He was then treated in the Berlin Charité and, despite everything, returned to Russia afterwards.
Wadephul: Putin tramples on international law every day
Navalny’s death, which marks the second anniversary this Monday, remains a bitter blow for all people, especially in Russia, who have not given up hope for a free country, said Wadephul. “Putin tramples on international law and humanity every day, and not just in Ukraine.” Putin also doesn’t care at all about his obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Federal Foreign Minister demanded that Navalny’s poisoning must have consequences. This is what the responsible committees must now focus on. That is why the Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was informed about the findings today.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul speaks at the Munich Security Conference.Image: keystone
Navalnaya: I hope Putin ends up in the dock at some point
Navalnaya thanked the laboratories in Germany, Great Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands involved in the analyzes. It was the hardest day of her life when she found out about her husband’s death two years ago. Even then she was sure that he had been murdered. “What else could have happened to a young, charismatic opposition leader in Putin’s prison?”
Yulia Navalnaya thanked the five EU states that were involved in the analyses.Image: keystone
It is certainly not news that the Kremlin leader is a murderer. «But now we have direct proof of this. And I very much hope that at some point he will end up in the dock and have to answer for everything he has done,” she said in a speech partly in Russian.
Death in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle
Navalny was considered Putin’s most prominent opponent in Russia, also because he repeatedly uncovered cases of corruption within the elite around the Kremlin chief. In 2020 he was poisoned and flown to Germany while in a coma, where he was treated in the Berlin Charité. The Russian authorities arrested the politician at the airport in January 2021 when he returned home – initially for allegedly violating previous probation conditions.
Russian courts later sentenced Navalny to long prison terms – including for extremism. In prison he was very isolated from the outside world. He died on February 16, 2024 in a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle. He was 47 years old at the time of death – the Russian authorities spoke of natural causes.
UK: Moscow must be held accountable
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said it could be confirmed that a deadly poison found in Ecuadorian poison dart frogs had been found in Navalny’s body. The Russian government must be held accountable for this. Cooper quoted Navalny’s words: “We have to do what they fear. Tell the truth, spread the truth. This is the most powerful weapon.”
Yvette Cooper.Image: keystone
Netherlands: Mills of justice slowly but decisively
Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Stenergard spoke of a step of the utmost importance to hold Russia accountable and expose its persistent lies. “I am incredibly proud that together we were able to help bring the truth to light.” Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said the good news is that the truth always comes out. The wheels of justice may have been grinding slowly but decisively for Navalny. (hkl/sda/dpa)