Biosecurity

Novichok group nerve agent used to poison Russian opposition figure Navalny, German govt spokesman claims, citing hospital tests

Hospital tests on Alexey Navalny show that he was poisoned with a nerve agent of the ‘Novichok’ group, according to a German government spokesman. Those allegedly responsible have not yet been identified.

The German government announced on Wednesday that tests from Navalny showed the presence of a ‘Novichok’-like nerve agent, similar to that said to have been used to poison the Skripals in the UK in 2018. 

Though the spokesman did not blame the Russian state for Navalny’s poisoning, he condemned the apparent attack and called on Moscow to explain its position on the case.

Alexey Navalny is a well-known protest leader, anti-corruption campaigner and an MSM darling, with Moscow already faced with accusations of being behind his poisoning. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that “the Russian leadership clearly does not” benefit from Navalny’s illness, and slammed western governments for their“suspicious haste” in blaming Russia. Of these governments, Germany and the US have led the charge, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for a criminal investigation into the alleged attack, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel making a similar demand, “in light of the prominent role played by Mr. Navalny in the political opposition in Russia.”

The Berlin spokesman, Stefan Siebert, said he would inform Germany’s EU and NATO allies about the test results. However, the Russian government has not been informed, Kremlin spokesman said.