August M
Russia has dismissed accusations that it was responsible for the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as commemorations mark two years since his death.
Speaking on Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow “categorically rejects” allegations linking the state to Navalny’s killing.
“Of course, we do not accept such accusations. We do not agree with them; we consider them biased and unfounded. In fact, we categorically reject them,” Peskov said, Digi24.ro reports.
European statement
The remarks follow a joint declaration issued on Saturday by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The five countries said laboratory analysis of Navalny’s biomaterials indicated he had been poisoned with epibatidine, a highly toxic substance derived from a South American frog.
According to the statement, samples were transferred out of Russia and examined in European laboratories. Journalists cited by Digi24.ro reported that the compound was allegedly synthesised by researchers at the GosNIIOHT institute, the same facility historically associated with the development of Novichok nerve agents.
The reports also named Vladimir Kondratiev, a former senior military chemical research official who led the institute for decades, as one of the scientists linked to the substance.
Moscow’s counterclaims
Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejected the European findings. Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the poisoning reports as “disinformation” and suggested they were being circulated to divert attention from international discussion surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, died in a penal colony known as Harp. Russian authorities previously denied any wrongdoing in connection with his death.
Commemorations held
Memorial events were organised in several countries to mark the anniversary. In Moscow, a service took place at Borisovsky cemetery, where Navalny is buried. His mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, attended the ceremony.
The renewed accusations and denials underscore the continued diplomatic tensions between Russia and European governments over Navalny’s death, which remains a focal point of international criticism of the Kremlin.
Sources: Digi24.ro, statements from the Kremlin and European governments.
