Five Western Nations Accuse Russia of Poisoning Navalny with Rare Dart Frog Toxin

United Kingdom - Ekhbary News Agency

Five Western Nations Accuse Russia of Poisoning Navalny with Rare Dart Frog Toxin

In an escalation of diplomatic tensions and renewed accusations against the Kremlin, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands issued a joint statement this Saturday (February 14, 2026), openly accusing Russia of having poisoned prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny in 2024 while he was in prison custody. The central allegation is the use of a "rare toxin" – identified as epibatidine, found in Ecuadorian dart frogs – which they claim was the probable cause of his death.

Alexei Navalny, a relentless critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a central figure in the opposition, died in an Arctic prison on February 16, 2024, where he was serving a 19-year sentence on charges widely considered politically motivated. Navalny's death sparked a wave of international condemnation and raised serious questions about the detention conditions of political prisoners in Russia and the safety of the regime's opponents.

The joint statement from the five countries, released at the Munich Security Conference, is based on analyses of biological samples which, they claim, revealed the presence of the epibatidine toxin. "The epibatidine toxin contained in the skin of dart frogs originating from Ecuador was found in samples and very likely caused his death," the countries stated. They vehemently refuted the Russian version that Navalny died of natural causes, arguing that "given the toxicity of epibatidine and the reported symptoms, it is very likely that poisoning was the cause of his death."

Epibatidine is a potent alkaloid with analgesic properties but is also highly toxic, capable of causing paralysis and death in high doses. Its natural occurrence is restricted to certain species of dart frogs, primarily from Central and South America, which raises significant questions about how such a substance could have been administered to Navalny in a high-security Russian prison.

The British Foreign Ministry, in a separate statement, was even more incisive, declaring that "only the Russian state had the means, a motive, and the opportunity to use this lethal toxin to attack Navalny during his incarceration in a Russian penal colony in Siberia." This direct accusation points to state responsibility, intensifying the rhetoric between Moscow and the West.

The Kremlin, for its part, has maintained official silence on this specific accusation, but the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian embassy in London categorically rejected the "Western report," labeling it as part of a conspiracy. Since Navalny's first poisoning with Novichok in 2020 – an attack he and Western nations attribute to the Russian state, but which Moscow denies – Russia has consistently refuted any involvement in his death, attributing the case to a "Western conspiracy" aimed at discrediting the Russian government.

The five signatory countries affirmed that they have reported Russia to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a step that seeks an international investigation and accountability under the Chemical Weapons Convention. To date, the OPCW has not publicly responded to AFP's inquiries on the matter, suggesting the complexity and political sensitivity of such an investigation.

The refusal of Russian authorities to hand over Navalny's body to his family for several days after his death, as well as the subsequent denial of access to independent autopsy results, further fueled the suspicions of his supporters and the international community. Many accuse the Russian government of attempting to cover up the true circumstances of the death. Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, who has taken over leadership of the opposition in exile, reiterated last September that laboratory analyses of biological samples confirmed her husband was poisoned, reinforcing the demand for justice and transparency.

The Navalny case continues to be a significant point of contention in international relations, serving as a barometer for tensions between Russia and the West. The new accusation involving a specific toxin adds a layer of disturbing detail and intensifies calls for an independent and comprehensive investigation, as the international community weighs the implications of such allegations on global stability and human rights.

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