Alexei Navalny and Yulia Navalnaya

The British government and several European allies say they have concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was deliberately poisoned on orders from the Kremlin, contradicting Moscow’s long-standing denials over his death in custody.

According to the UK Foreign Office, laboratory analysis of material samples taken from Navalny’s body detected epibatidine, a highly toxic substance derived from poison dart frogs native to South America. Officials say the compound does not occur naturally in Russia and has no innocent explanation for appearing in a prisoner’s system.

Navalny, widely described as President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent political opponent, died in a Siberian penal colony in 2024 while serving a lengthy sentence. Russian authorities claimed at the time that he died of natural causes.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper met Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, at the Munich Security Conference, where Navalnaya first announced her husband’s death two years ago. Cooper said only the Russian state had the “means, motive and opportunity” to deploy such a toxin inside a high-security prison.

A joint statement by the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and The Netherlands said the governments were confident Navalny was poisoned and accused Russia of violating international law.

The findings will be submitted to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The allies also cited the 2020 Novichok poisoning attempt against Navalny and the 2018 Salisbury attack as evidence of a pattern.

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Key Takeaways

• UK and allies say Navalny was killed with the toxin epibatidine.

• Britain argues only the Russian state could have carried out the poisoning.

• Findings will be submitted to the OPCW as a chemical weapons violation.

Alexei Navalny killed with frog poison on Putin’s orders, Britain reveals

The UK would probably say that Putin is responsible for sunspots and X-class solar flares. And oh, Epstein is Putin's personal sidekick.
The UK publishes propaganda so individuals like yourself will buy it and spread it. See - effective, isn't it? For anyone who hasn't noticed, the great powers are in a information war. Best to be cynical about anything that comes out of their foreign offices, especially when the source is something like MSN. "According to anonymous sources of course." Anyway - this is old news. I've heard it before.

20 minutes ago, connda said:

The UK would probably say that Putin is responsible for sunspots and X-class solar flares. And oh, Epstein is Putin's personal sidekick.
The UK publishes propaganda so individuals like yourself will buy it and spread it. See - effective, isn't it? For anyone who hasn't noticed, the great powers are in a information war. Best to be cynical about anything that comes out of their foreign offices, especially when the source is something like MSN. "According to anonymous sources of course." Anyway - this is old news. I've heard it before.

Epstein sadly suffered from unrequited love regarding Putin. The Russian president's name appears more than 1,000 times in the latest files.

.From 2013 onwards, by which time Putin had returned to the presidency, the emails show Epstein made several bids to meet him through the former Norwegian PM Thorbjorn Jagland.

A year later, in July 2015, he tells Jagland: "I still would like to meet putin [sic] and talk economy, i would really appreciate your assistance." There are more attempts in 2016, 2017 and finally in June 2018 - just one line in an email to Jagland once again: "Would love to meet with putin [sic]."

'I still would like to meet Putin': Epstein's unrequited love for Russian leader | World News | Sky News

This is literally not an anonymous source. This is a statement jointly issued by the UK, French, German, Dutch and Swedish. The laboratories involved are first rate. Russia, or the Soviet Union, has a long history of using toxins as an assassination weapon, such as the Ricin attacks in France.

https://www.regeringen.se/uttalanden/2026/02/joint-statement-by-the-uk-sweden-france-germany-and-the-netherlands/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-by-the-uk-sweden-france-germany-and-the-netherlands-on-alexei-navalnys-death

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/news/2756262-2756262

I used to attend OPCW meetings at the FCO. It was always interesting chatting with the ministers and various ambassadors assembled. These were meeting where the FCO would involve parts of UK industry who handled or came into contact controlled materials in discussions, prior to UK submissions to the Hague

Unless there is some additional analysis, which will likely be forthcoming in the report to the OPCW, epibatidine can be produced synthetically. There is some work looking at it as a potential painkiller (200 times more potent than morphine). If the statement is correct, in that the tissue samples contained native epibatidine, then they must have determined no racemic mixture is present. The labs involved would have been DSTL at Porton Down, the FOI at Umeå, WIS at Munster.

Now there are a few enantiomeric syntheses published, to avoid racemic mixtures (a racemic mixture was why thalidomide caused issues).

And this is the most recent version, from Russia

http://chem.folium.ru/index.php/chem/article/view/1027

Identifying epibatidine in samples isn't secret squirrel stuff; likely LC-MS. Ruling out exposure to a synthetic version takes a few extra steps. Natural is the + enantiomer, so you need an optical technique.

Navalny's murder is very similar to Nemtsov's. Both politicians' murders occurred when their approval ratings were approaching absolute zero.
That's why Vlad supporters prefer the word "recycling" to "murder" for these cases.

10 hours ago, zmisha said:

Navalny's murder is very similar to Nemtsov's. Both politicians' murders occurred when their approval ratings were approaching absolute zero.
That's why Vlad supporters prefer the word "recycling" to "murder" for these cases.

So Vlad killed Navalny because his approval rating was approaching absolute zero! 55555 😁

14 hours ago, bannork said:

The British government and several European allies say they have concluded

Well, yes, of course they have.

There's no question that Navalny was murdered, and there's no question that many other political opponents have been murdered by the Russian security agencies under Putin's directions. Navalny was a heroic man who showed great amounts of courage.

And yet Trump continues kissing his butt, sucking up to him like a total sycophant slave, and embarrassing both himself and the nation in the process. So either Trump blatantly supports a dictator, or Putin has so much Kompromat on him that he has no choice other than to be Putin's lap dog. Either way it's pretty ugly and very typical Don misbehavior.

15 hours ago, connda said:

The UK would probably say that Putin is responsible for sunspots and X-class solar flares.

The country where Gareth Williams and David Kelly "unalived" themselves are on thin ice moaning about other countries unaliving problem people. Glass houses and stones innit😅

FSB officer 1: Igor, ve must kill Navalny.

FSB officer 2: No problem, sir, he is in Siberia prison. Maybe he vill commit suicide like ze Amerikan Epstein. Evil smile.

1: No, no, zis too simple, too obvious.

2: Ok, ve vill mix tablet in his food for heart attack, or stroke, or uncontrollable diarrhea ...

1: No, Igor, no. Come here. Let me show you picture.

2: Zis frog!!

1: Screams! Not any frog! Special frog! Killer frog! You must go, Igor, to ze Amazon and capture zis frog. Take zis picture with you.

2: But, sir, ...

1: No, buts! Do you vant us to be famous or not? Do you vant MI6 and CIA to throw up there hands in amazement at FSB skills or not? Do you Igor or not?

2: Yes, sir.

1: So here is ze plan. Fly to Rio under identity Israeli businessman. Enter Amazon forest on foot. Contact aborigines. Show zem picture frog, bribe with 20 waterproof underpants.

After you cannot leave with frogs through airport because of ze stupid customs. So take fishing boat out to contact point in Atlantic. Russian destroyer vill pick you up. You vill be home in a month and vill be a hero, Igor. A hero!

Goes to a window and shakes his fist. MI6, CIA you vill fear me! I Dimitry of the FSB!

The poison dart frog toxin linked to Navalny’s death.

• Epibatidine, a highly potent toxin linked to Alexei Navalny's death, is reportedly 100 times more powerful than morphine

• This extremely toxic, nicotine-like compound originates from poison dart frogs found exclusively in northern South America, not indigenous to Russia.

• The toxin inhibits nerve action by blocking nicotinic receptors, leading to muscle and respiratory paralysis and death by suffocation.

• Professor Alastair Hay stated that the presence of Epibatidine in a person's blood suggests deliberate administration, potentially enhanced by other drugs.

• If Russia used Epibatidine to poison Mr Navalny, it would violate the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, both of which Russia is a signatory to.

The poison dart frog toxin linked to Navalny’s death, explained

4 hours ago, Autocan said:

FSB officer 3:

Nyet! Ve vill haff unscrutable cover story! Ve transfer him to America South and announce

"He Was in the Amazon With My Mom When She Was Researching Spiders Right Before She Died"

Seriously? an Equadorian frog? This is absurd. Navalny was due to be exchanged for people in the West, had diabetes and was full of his own importance. Most people in Russia have never heard of him - his death is used as a propaganda tool by Russiaphobes. No evidence, no chain of custody, no released toxicology reports and two years to make up this story. Only recently, it was another poison - that didn't work, so let's say it was an Amazonian frog? It's beyond farcical. If they wanted him dead, why did they transport him to Berlin?

23 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

There's no question that Navalny was murdered, and there's no question that many other political opponents have been murdered by the Russian security agencies under Putin's directions. Navalny was a heroic man who showed great amounts of courage.

And yet Trump continues kissing his butt, sucking up to him like a total sycophant slave, and embarrassing both himself and the nation in the process. So either Trump blatantly supports a dictator, or Putin has so much Kompromat on him that he has no choice other than to be Putin's lap dog. Either way it's pretty ugly and very typical Don misbehavior.

No question? jeeze you've never been to Russia or studied geopolitics, obviously. Just continue sucking up the propaganda 😃

On 2/15/2026 at 12:30 PM, candide said:

So Vlad killed Navalny because his approval rating was approaching absolute zero! 55555 😁

I guess his death is very similar to Jeffrey Epstein's. When Jeffrey was popular and influential, his high-ranking friends loved him. However, after his exposure, his former friends became his enemies because Jeffrey could say something he shouldn't about them at any moment.

Everything changed when Vlad exposed Navalny and said he was collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies. After that, Navalny's former friends became his enemies.

2 hours ago, zmisha said:

I guess his death is very similar to Jeffrey Epstein's. When Jeffrey was popular and influential, his high-ranking friends loved him. However, after his exposure, his former friends became his enemies because Jeffrey could say something he shouldn't about them at any moment.

Everything changed when Vlad exposed Navalny and said he was collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies. After that, Navalny's former friends became his enemies.

You "guess" wrong, obviously! 😄

It's amazing just how many Putin apologists this site seems to attract. If one was being cynical, one could easily believe they were Russian trolls all along (heavens to Betsy).

On 2/15/2026 at 1:44 AM, Roadsternut said:

This is literally not an anonymous source. This is a statement jointly issued by the UK, French, German, Dutch and Swedish. The laboratories involved are first rate. Russia, or the Soviet Union, has a long history of using toxins as an assassination weapon, such as the Ricin attacks in France.

https://www.regeringen.se/uttalanden/2026/02/joint-statement-by-the-uk-sweden-france-germany-and-the-netherlands/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-statement-by-the-uk-sweden-france-germany-and-the-netherlands-on-alexei-navalnys-death

https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/news/2756262-2756262

I used to attend OPCW meetings at the FCO. It was always interesting chatting with the ministers and various ambassadors assembled. These were meeting where the FCO would involve parts of UK industry who handled or came into contact controlled materials in discussions, prior to UK submissions to the Hague

Unless there is some additional analysis, which will likely be forthcoming in the report to the OPCW, epibatidine can be produced synthetically. There is some work looking at it as a potential painkiller (200 times more potent than morphine). If the statement is correct, in that the tissue samples contained native epibatidine, then they must have determined no racemic mixture is present. The labs involved would have been DSTL at Porton Down, the FOI at Umeå, WIS at Munster.

Now there are a few enantiomeric syntheses published, to avoid racemic mixtures (a racemic mixture was why thalidomide caused issues).

And this is the most recent version, from Russia

http://chem.folium.ru/index.php/chem/article/view/1027

Identifying epibatidine in samples isn't secret squirrel stuff; likely LC-MS. Ruling out exposure to a synthetic version takes a few extra steps. Natural is the + enantiomer, so you need an optical technique.

You win post of the day. Very well deconstructed and explained. Appreciate your expertise.

On 2/18/2026 at 9:59 AM, candide said:

You "guess" wrong, obviously! 😄

I also think that the absence of Vlad supporters at the alleged crime scene is exactly what makes them — unlike the opponents — avoid being overly confident or using words like “obviously” or “I saw it myself.” Instead, they’re forced to say “I guess.” What do you think?

40 minutes ago, zmisha said:

I also think that the absence of Vlad supporters at the alleged crime scene is exactly what makes them — unlike the opponents — avoid being overly confident or using words like “obviously” or “I saw it myself.” Instead, they’re forced to say “I guess.” What do you think?

Lol! No absence of prison guards and Russian administration at the crime scene! 🤣

navalny was a scum bag. I won't miss him

On 2/18/2026 at 10:50 AM, johnnybangkok said:

It's amazing just how many Putin apologists this site seems to attract. If one was being cynical, one could easily believe they were Russian trolls all along (heavens to Betsy).

I'm Belgian.

True blood. Not naturalized.

I'm 100% pro Russia and pro Putin.

On 2/18/2026 at 10:50 AM, johnnybangkok said:

It's amazing just how many Putin apologists this site seems to attract. If one was being cynical, one could easily believe they were Russian trolls all along (heavens to Betsy).

The most funny aspect is that they are probably not even paid for that! 😆

On 2/20/2026 at 9:14 AM, jayceenik said:

I'm Belgian.

True blood. Not naturalized.

I'm 100% pro Russia and pro Putin.

I think your 'true blood' statement tells us everything we need to know about you.

18 hours ago, johnnybangkok said:

I think your 'true blood' statement tells us everything we need to know about you.

Yes, I'm a born Belgian.

I wanted to make my nationality very clear in my post.

You and other Russophobes in AN forums are only too quick to designate those of us pro-Putin and pro-Russia as "Russian trolls".

And no need for the Kremlin to pay for my opinion about this US-Russia war by proxy Ukraine.

On 2/16/2026 at 12:22 PM, bangadang said:

Seriously? an Equadorian frog? This is absurd. Navalny was due to be exchanged for people in the West, had diabetes and was full of his own importance. Most people in Russia have never heard of him - his death is used as a propaganda tool by Russiaphobes. No evidence, no chain of custody, no released toxicology reports and two years to make up this story. Only recently, it was another poison - that didn't work, so let's say it was an Amazonian frog? It's beyond farcical. If they wanted him dead, why did they transport him to Berlin?

I bet you're looking forward to getting that PR check from the Kremlin at the end of the month. King Vlad is very grateful for your service. Disinformation is a very valuable thing for the enemy.

On 2/20/2026 at 2:14 AM, jayceenik said:

I'm Belgian.

True blood. Not naturalized.

I'm 100% pro Russia and pro Putin.

A lot of Belgians in WW2 supported Hitler.

What's "true blood Belgian"; some of you speak French, some speak Flemish. Not a real country.

On 2/22/2026 at 1:45 AM, jayceenik said:

Yes, I'm a born Belgian.

I wanted to make my nationality very clear in my post.

You and other Russophobes in AN forums are only too quick to designate those of us pro-Putin and pro-Russia as "Russian trolls".

And no need for the Kremlin to pay for my opinion about this US-Russia war by proxy Ukraine.

Lenin is popularly considered to have referred to "useful idiots" (he never did), but we know what is meant by that. When you stay you are "100% Pro-Russian", that says a lot about you.

You complain about being called pro-Russian, but then say you are pro-Russian.

18 hours ago, Roadsternut said:

Lenin is popularly considered to have referred to "useful idiots" (he never did), but we know what is meant by that. When you stay you are "100% Pro-Russian", that says a lot about you.

You complain about being called pro-Russian, but then say you are pro-Russian.

In the UK some speak Welsh, not English and many many more now speak exotic languages.

Not very polite to treat me, a fellow AN poster as a "useful idiot".

And in other news, the Pope is Catholic, and bears s**t in the woods.