The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16, 2024, was poisoned by the Kremlin with a 'rare toxin', according to a report prepared by the United Kingdom. The UK's Foreign Office issued a joint statement with France, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, two years after the death of the former activist, and stated: 'We know that the Russian state used this lethal toxin to target him out of fear of his exposure'. According to analyses, the substance would be 'epibatidine', a toxin found in the dart frogs of Ecuador, while the five countries considered that only Russia 'had the means, the motive, and the contempt for international law'. They also announced they will file a complaint against the Kremlin with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The government of President Vladimir Putin had always claimed that the opposition leader died of natural causes while serving a 19-year prison sentence.
Navalny died suddenly at the age of 47 in a Russian prison in the Arctic Circle.
