Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned, widow says

Yulia Navalnaya revealed that two foreign laboratories tested biological samples from her husband, Alexei Navalny, confirming he was poisoned. Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition leader, died suddenly on February 16, 2024, at 47, in an Arctic Circle prison. Navalnaya stated, "These labs in two different countries reached the same conclusion: Alexei was killed. More specifically, he was poisoned." She demanded the labs publish their findings, emphasizing, "We all deserve to know the truth."

Navalnaya described Navalny’s final moments: "Alexei lay on the floor and pulled his knees up to his stomach and moaned in pain." He reportedly vomited in a punishment cell, with his chest and stomach burning. The Kremlin, through Dmitry Peskov, dismissed her claims, stating, "I don’t know anything about these statements of hers." Russia labels Navalny’s allies as extremists aiming to destabilize the country.

Navalny’s 2021 return to Russia, after surviving a nerve agent poisoning in Siberia, led to his arrest on charges he called fabricated. Navalnaya rejected Russian claims that Navalny died from "a combination of diseases." She noted the labs’ findings are an "inconvenient truth" for some Western politicians, without naming them. The Kremlin denies involvement, citing a planned prisoner exchange.