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Navalny, who fell unwell on a flight from the Siberian metropolis of Tomsk to Moscow final month, is being handled at a Berlin hospital.
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert stated toxicological exams on samples taken from Navalny had been carried out at a German navy laboratory, offering “unequivocal evidence of a chemical nerve agent” from the Novichok group — Soviet-era chemical weapons.
In an announcement, Seibert stated it was “startling” that “Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent in Russia.”
“The federal government condemns this attack in the strongest possible terms,” the assertion stated, including: “The Russian government is urged to explain itself regarding the incident.”
In a press convention Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stated the take a look at outcomes proved that Navalny had been the sufferer of a criminal offense.
“Alexey Navalny was the victim of an attack with a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group,” Merkel stated. “This poison can be detected without a doubt in the samples.”
“This means that Alexey Navalny is definitely the victim of a crime,” she added.”They wanted to silence him and I condemn this in the strongest possible terms, also on behalf of the entire Federal Government.”
“There are very serious questions now which only the Russian government can and must answer,” Merkel stated. “The fate of Alexey Navalny has received a lot of attention worldwide. The world will wait for an answer.”
Novichok was used in a March 2018 assault on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in the English cathedral metropolis of Salisbury.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated Wednesday that the Kremlin had not obtained any data from Germany that Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, in keeping with Russian state information company TASS.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated it was ready for a German response to a request from the Russian Prosecutor General relating to Navalny’s remedy and prognosis, TASS reported.
Attack ‘outrageous,’ says Johnson
On Wednesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated “the Russian government must now explain what happened” to Navalny.
“It’s outrageous that a chemical weapon was used against Alexey Navalny. We have seen first-hand the deadly consequences of Novichok in the UK,” Johnson stated in a tweet. “We will work with international partners to ensure justice is done.”
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated it was “absolutely unacceptable” that Novichok had once more been deployed in opposition to a number one Russian opposition determine.
“The Russian government has a clear case to answer,” Raab stated. “It must tell the truth about what happened to Mr Navalny. We will work closely with Germany, our allies and international partners to demonstrate that there are consequences for using banned chemical weapons anywhere in the world.”
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, additionally condemned the assault.
“This is a despicable and cowardly act — once again,” she posted on Twitter. “Perpetrators need to be brought to justice,” she added.
In addition to the EU, Seibert stated Merkel would additionally inform NATO and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons concerning the outcomes of the investigation.
Navalny in intensive care unit
Navalny, 44, a distinguished critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, grew to become unwell en route from Siberia to Moscow on August 20. Dramatic video footage from the airplane confirmed a person groaning in obvious agony.
The flight made an emergency touchdown in Omsk, and Navalny was transferred to a hospital there, earlier than his spouse and supporters pleaded for him to be taken to Germany for remedy.
The anti-corruption blogger was flown to Berlin two days later, and brought to the town’s Charité Hospital.
A hospital spokesperson stated Wednesday that Navalny stays in a “serious” situation and that docs treating him have been in shut contact with the Kremlin critic’s spouse.
“Alexey Navalny is still being treated in an intensive care unit and mechanically ventilated. A longer course of the illness is to be expected,” the assertion learn. “Long-term consequences of severe poisoning cannot be ruled out.”
The assertion added that the critic’s situation was bettering and that his signs from being poisoned have been declining.
Critics level finger of blame at Putin
Following the German government’s announcement on Wednesday, Leonid Volkov, Navalny’s chief of workers, tweeted out an image of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature. In the accompanying textual content, Volkov wrote that the act of poisoning Navalny with Novichok was akin to leaving an autograph on the scene of the crime.
The director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov, additionally tweeted on Wednesday, writing that Novichok may solely be used by “the [Russian] State,” referring to the nation’s intelligence establishments. “This is beyond any reasonable doubt,” Zhdanov added.
Andrea Sella, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, advised CNN: “The identification of the poison as being one of the family of Novichok agents points extremely strongly towards the Russian government being responsible for this outrage.”
“The Russian government has the motivation for it, but also the track record on multiple levels,” Sella stated. “It shows both their ruthlessness but also their level of impunity. It is clear that they care little about international opinion and are prepared to act because they know that the consequences are extremely small.”
Navalny’s spokesperson has beforehand stated the opposition chief had drunk black tea shortly earlier than falling unwell.
When requested by CNN if Novichok may have been ingested with the tea, Sella stated it was “possible,” including: “It’s not water soluble so perhaps [it’s] tricky. Orally you’d expect it to be fast.”
Sella stated one other risk was that poisoning occurred by way of contact with the pores and skin, as in the Skripal case, the place the tactic ensured a delayed influence.
“But it’s a less efficient means of delivery,” he added. “Oral ingestion might have been possible if the materials were formulated in a way that delays the effects. There are plenty of pharmacological precedents for such a formulation.”
Novichok means “newcomer” in Russian. The chemical weapons have been first developed in secret by the Soviet Union through the Cold War in the 1980s.
Novichok’s existence remained secret till the mid-1990s, when data relating to manufacturing was revealed as a part of a deliberate leak by disgruntled Soviet scientist and whistle-blower Vil Mirzayanov. Even at present, no nation exterior of Russia is thought to have developed substances in the Novichok group.
CNN’s Darya Tarasova, Zamira Rahim and Angela Dewan contributed to this report.
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