Overview
- The UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands said laboratory tests on Navalny’s body conclusively identified epibatidine, a toxin not found naturally in Russia.
- The governments asserted that only the Russian state had the means, motive and opportunity to administer the lethal agent while Navalny was imprisoned.
- The findings were unveiled at the Munich Security Conference near the second anniversary of Navalny’s death, with officials framing the case as part of a wider pattern of prohibited agents.
- Yulia Navalnaya welcomed the conclusion as proof of poisoning, while Russian authorities maintained that Navalny died of natural causes after falling ill.
- The five countries said they have reported an alleged breach of the Chemical Weapons Convention to the OPCW, following a complex, multi-year analysis that media reports say involved UK scientists at Porton Down.