Moscow - Britain says Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died\nfrom a poison developed from the venom of poison dart frogs. The poison\nis described as extremely rare.<\/p>\n
As reported by BBC on Sunday (15\/2\/2026), Britain and its allies have\nblamed Russia after analyzing samples from Navalny\u2019s body. He died two\nyears ago in a Siberian prison colony.<\/p>\n
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said \u201conly the Russian\ngovernment had the means, motive, and opportunity\u201d to use the poison\nwhile Navalny was imprisoned in Russia.<\/p>\n
According to the Tass news agency, Moscow dismissed the findings as\nan \u201cinformation campaign.\u201d However, Cooper said there is no explanation\nfor why the poison, called epibatidine, was found.<\/p>\n
Cooper announced the findings in a joint statement issued by Britain,\nSweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Cooper met with Navalny\u2019s\nwife, Yulia Navalnaya, at a conference this weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cRussia saw Navalny as a threat. By using this type of poison, the\nRussian state has demonstrated the sinister tools at its disposal and\nits extraordinary fear of political opposition,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Britain\u2019s allies said only the Russian state had the means, motive,\nand opportunity to use the deadly poison against Navalny during his\ndetention in a Russian prison colony in Siberia. They hold Russia\nresponsible for his death.<\/p>\n
\u201cEpibatidine can be found naturally in poison dart frogs in the wild\nin South America. Poison dart frogs kept in captivity do not produce\nthis toxin, and it is not found naturally in Russia. There is no\nplausible explanation for its presence in Navalny\u2019s body,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The UK Foreign Office said Britain had notified the Organisation for\nthe Prohibition of Chemical Weapons about Russia\u2019s alleged violation of\nthe Chemical Weapons Convention.<\/p>\n
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Navalny\u2019s determination to\nexpose the truth had left an enduring legacy. \u201cI will do whatever it\ntakes to defend our people, our values, and our way of life from Russian\nthreats and Putin\u2019s murderous intent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
French Foreign Minister Jean-No\u00ebl Barrot also said his country \u201cpays\ntribute\u201d to Navalny, who he said was killed for his fight for a free and\ndemocratic Russia.<\/p>\n
Navalny was an anti-corruption activist and Russia\u2019s most vocal\nopposition leader. He died suddenly in prison on February 16, 2024, at\nthe age of 47. In 2020, he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok.\nHe received treatment in Germany and was arrested at the airport upon\nhis return to Russia.<\/p>\n
An \u2018extremely rare\u2019 poison<\/strong><\/p>\n Epibatidine, the poison that Britain and its European allies say was\nused to kill Alexei Navalny, originally comes from a group of poison\ndart frogs native to northern South America.<\/p>\n Although epibatidine had previously been studied as a painkiller and\nfor relieving painful inflammatory lung conditions, it was deemed too\ntoxic for clinical use.<\/p>\n Speaking to BBC Russia, toxicology expert Jill Johnson said the\nsubstance is \u201c200 times more potent than morphine.\u201d By acting on\nreceptors in the central nervous system, it can cause \u201cmuscle twitching\nand paralysis, seizures, slow heart rate, respiratory failure, and\nultimately death.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson said this extremely rare neurotoxin is only found in one\nspecies of wild frog in small quantities, and only when the frog eats a\nspecific diet. Researchers believe the frogs acquire it through their\nfood, as animals from different habitats show different levels of the\ntoxin, and animals raised in captivity have none at all.<\/p>\n Johnson described it as \u201can extremely rare way to poison someone.\u201d\n\u201cFinding a wild frog in the right location eating the right diet to\nproduce the right alkaloid is almost impossible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Prior to the announcement, Navalny\u2019s wife Yulia Navalnaya had\nconsistently stated that her husband was killed with poison while\nserving his prison sentence in an Arctic penal colony in 2024.<\/p>\n In September last year, Navalnaya said analysis of smuggled\nbiological samples conducted by laboratories in two countries showed her\nhusband had been \u201cmurdered.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI was certain from day one that my husband had been poisoned, but\nnow there is proof. I am grateful to the European countries for the\nmeticulous work they have done over two years and for revealing the\ntruth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n According to state news agency Tass, Kremlin spokesperson Maria\nZakharova said \u201call this talk and statements are an information campaign\naimed at distracting attention from the West\u2019s pressing problems.\u201d<\/p>\n Russian President Vladimir Putin, who carefully avoided mentioning\nNavalny by name during his lifetime, briefly referred to him a month\nafter his death, stating that someone dying \u201cis always a sad event.\u201d<\/p>\n At the time of his death, Navalny had been imprisoned for three years\non fabricated charges. According to Russian reports, the 47-year-old\ntook a brief walk in the Siberian prison colony, said he felt unwell,\nthen collapsed and never regained consciousness.<\/p>",
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