The United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, and the Netherlands stated that Alexei Navalny died as a result of poisoning with epibatidine — a rare and extremely lethal toxin not found in nature in Russia.
Several independent laboratories in different countries detected epibatidine in Navalny’s biological samples, which his family managed to take out of Russia.
The five European states rejected Moscow’s claim of “natural causes.” Their joint statement reads:
The United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany and the Netherlands are confident that Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a deadly toxin.
The statement further says:
Russia claims that Navalny died of natural causes. Given the toxicity of epibatidine and the reported symptoms, poisoning is the most likely cause of death. Navalny died while in prison, meaning Russia had the means, the motive, and the opportunity to administer this toxin.
The five countries have notified the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons of Russia’s violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, noting that this follows earlier cases, including Navalny’s poisoning with Novichok in 2020.
Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, stated:
I was certain my husband had been poisoned from the very first day, but now there is proof: Putin killed Alexei with chemical weapons.