Munich (Germany) (AFP) - Five European countries, including Britain, France and Germany, on Saturday accused Russia of poisoning opposition figure Alexei Navalny in his prison in 2024 by using a “rare toxic substance,” on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

Published on: 02/14/2026 - 15:15

The British Foreign Office said in a joint statement with Sweden, France, the Netherlands and Germany, ahead of the second anniversary of the death of Navalny, the most prominent opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, “We know that the Russian state used this deadly poison to target Navalny for fear of opposing him.”

Britain stated that it would inform the International Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of this matter "as a blatant violation by Russia" of the organization's charter, demanding that Moscow "immediately stop this dangerous activity."

The British Foreign Office explained that "regular and coordinated action confirmed, based on laboratory analyses, that the deadly poison usually found inside the skin of Ecuadorian dart frogs was found in samples taken from Alexei Navalny's body."

She added that this poison "very likely caused his death."

These new conclusions confirm the hypothesis put forward by the widow of the opposition figure, Yulia Navalnya, as she confirmed in September that her husband had been poisoned.

Navalnya said on Saturday, commenting on the findings of the five-nation investigation, “Two years ago (...) I said that Vladimir Putin killed my husband (...) and today, these words have become proven by science.”

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, as quoted in the statement, “Only the Russian government had the means, motive and opportunity to use this deadly poison against Alexei Navalny during his imprisonment in Russia.”

She added, "Today, alongside his widow, the United Kingdom is highlighting the Kremlin's barbaric plan aimed at silencing his voice."

Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and fierce opponent of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, died at the age of 47 in mysterious circumstances inside an Arctic prison, while serving a 19-year prison sentence on charges he confirmed were politically motivated.

After his death, the authorities refused for several days to hand over his body to his family, which raised the suspicions of his supporters, who accused the Russian authorities of killing him and trying to cover up their crime. But the Kremlin denies these accusations.

© 2026 AFP

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