Navalny Poisoned with Novichok, German Government Announces

Germany's armed forces laboratory has determined that Alexei Navalny has been poisoned with a chemical agent belonging to the Novichok group. This was stated in a message published by the German government, as reported by the BBC.

The announcement mentions that Bundeswehr specialists analyzed Navalny's blood test with the permission of doctors from Berlin's Charité hospital. Since August 22, the Russian opposition leader has been receiving treatment at this medical facility.

According to a written statement from the German government's press secretary, the study results indicate clear traces of Novichok in Navalny's blood. Novichok is the same nerve agent that was used in March 2018 to poison former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the United Kingdom.

On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and several ministers held a special meeting to discuss further actions. Official Berlin emphasizes that the attack on the Russian opposition figure using a military-grade poison within Russia is an unprecedented event, for which the Russian authorities must provide explanations.

Germany plans to inform its partners in the European Union and NATO about the results of Navalny's blood tests and coordinate a unified response. Berlin also intends to establish contact with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) based in The Hague.

It is worth noting that 44-year-old Alexei Navalny's health sharply deteriorated on the morning of August 20 during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. He was transported in a coma to one of the hospitals in Omsk, and after several days of struggle, his wife and associates finally managed to transfer him to Germany.