Moscow, Russia. The Kremlin on Monday rejected accusations from five European countries that the Russian state killed late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in 2024 using a toxin found in poison dart frogs, calling the claims unfounded.
European statement cites toxin findings
In a joint statement on Saturday, Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said analyses of samples from Navalny’s body had “conclusively” confirmed the presence of epibatidine, a toxin found in poison dart frogs in South America and not found naturally in Russia.
Kremlin calls allegations false
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Moscow took a very negative view of the allegations and said they were false.
“Naturally, we do not accept such accusations. We disagree with them. We consider them biased and unfounded. And, in fact, we strongly reject them,” Peskov said.
Background on Navalny’s death and prior denials
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, died in February 2024 aged 47 in an Arctic prison, a month before Putin was re-elected in a landslide vote which Western nations said was neither free nor fair.
Russian authorities, who have outlawed Navalny’s movement as extremist, have previously rejected accusations from his widow, Yulia Navalnaya, that the state killed him, saying he died of natural causes.
What do you make of the Kremlin’s response to the European countries’ findings and allegations?