Russia has formally rejected Western accusations that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned to death, sending a note to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons denying any wrongdoing.
Moscow’s representative told TASS the note, circulated among OPCW member states, dismisses the allegations as “absurd insinuations” and argues that epibatidine – the toxin Western governments say killed Navalny – falls outside the Chemical Weapons Convention and therefore cannot be considered by the watchdog.
The denial follows a joint statement published by the United Kingdom on Saturday, in which Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden said Navalny was killed two years ago in an Arctic penal colony using epibatidine, a rare toxin derived from poison dart frogs native to South America.
The statement said analyses of samples from Navalny’s body “conclusively confirmed” the presence of epibatidine, which is not found naturally in Russia.
“Given the toxicity of epibatidine and the reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death,” the statement said.
Western governments said only the Russian state had the “means, motive and disregard for international law” to carry out the poisoning, adding that Moscow’s “repeated disregard” for the Chemical Weapons Convention was clear.
In a follow-up post, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said only the Russian government had the opportunity to carry out the killing.
Russia has consistently claimed that Navalny died of natural causes.
Speaking to the BBC, toxicology expert Jill Johnson said epibatidine is about 200 times more potent than morphine and can cause seizures, paralysis, respiratory failure and death by acting on the central nervous system.
She said the neurotoxin is extremely rare and found in only one wild frog species, and only in tiny amounts linked to a specific diet.
The joint statement said the findings also point to possible violations of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and raised concerns that Russia may not have fully destroyed its chemical weapons stockpiles. Britain and its allies said they would use “all policy levers” to hold Moscow accountable and have informed the OPCW of Russia’s alleged breach.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Navalny’s “determination to expose the truth has left an enduring legacy,” adding that Russia and President Vladimir Putin had shown “murderous intent.”
Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, died suddenly in custody on Feb. 16, 2024. He had returned to Russia after surviving a 2020 poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent and receiving treatment in Germany, only to be arrested and imprisoned.
Before Saturday’s announcement, Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, repeatedly said her husband was killed by poisoning.