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On social media for the first time after he fell seriously ill in Siberia on August 20, Navalny posted a photo of himself with his wife and two children at the Berlin hospital, where he was airlifted for treatment.
Navalny posted a photo, appearing with his wife and two children at the Berlin hospital, on Instagram. Image: Instagram /
MOSCOW – Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny said on Tuesday that he was able to breathe without help in his first public comments after his alleged poisoning, while his aide said he planned to return from Germany once recovered.
“Hi, I’m Navalny,” she wrote in an Instagram post that has accumulated over 1 million “likes” in just a few hours. Supporters hailed what they said was the return from the death of the 44-year-old.
On social media for the first time after becoming seriously ill in Siberia on August 20, Navalny posted a photo of himself with his wife and two children at the Berlin hospital, where he was airlifted for treatment.
Wearing a hospital gown and sitting on the bed, he looked haggard and barely smiled, while his wife Yulia smiled beside him.
The outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin collapsed on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow after a trip to support opposition candidates in local elections.
German experts say there is “unequivocal evidence” that Russia’s most prominent opposition figure was poisoned with Novichok, a potent nerve agent. Moscow has dismissed the findings, saying its doctors found no traces of venom.
“Yesterday I was able to breathe on my own all day,” Navalny wrote.
“It’s an amazing process and underrated by many. I highly recommend it,” joked Navalny, who has 1.8 million followers on Instagram.
“I miss you,” he told his followers.
The alleged poisoning of the anti-corruption activist has drawn harsh condemnation from Western leaders, who have called for a full investigation and for those responsible to be brought to justice.
Germany said on Monday that French and Swedish labs had independently confirmed the findings of doctors in Berlin that Navalny was poisoned with Novichok.
‘FROM AMONG THE DEAD’
Navalny’s allies say the use of the banned chemical weapon means that only the Russian state could be held responsible.
Throughout the day, fans greeted Navalny on social media.
“Navalny has returned from the dead. He deserves to be the president of Russia,” read a post on Twitter.
Navalny spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said separately that the opposition leader planned to return to Russia.
“No other option has ever been considered,” he said. AFP.
Russia has dismissed Germany’s findings, saying its doctors found no traces of venom when Navalny was first taken to hospital in Siberia. This week, Putin dismissed “unfounded claims” about his critic’s illness.
The director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, reiterated Tuesday that Russian doctors had found no evidence that Navalny was poisoned.
“So we have a lot of questions for the German side,” Naryshkin told reporters.
Doctors in the Siberian city of Omsk conducted robust tests and saved the life of the opposition leader, he said.
He added that Russia had destroyed stocks of Novichok, a Soviet-designed nerve agent, and that accusations that Russia stockpiled the chemical weapon amounted to “misinformation.”
Despite international calls for Russia to carry out a transparent investigation or risk sanctions, it has not opened a criminal investigation.
‘NAVALNY REJECTS THE RUSSIA PROBE’
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was willing to cooperate with German doctors, but that Berlin doctors had not yet shared the results of Navalny’s tests.
“For whatever reason, we have not received a response from our German counterparts,” Peskov said.
The_ New York Times_, citing German officials, said Navalny had refused to cooperate with a Russian request to investigate the case together with Germany. His spokesman Yarmysh declined to comment on the report.
The case has increased tensions between Russia and the West, and has heightened calls for Germany to abandon the nearly completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.
Navalny’s post came a day after his allies won symbolic victories in local elections held in all regions of Russia on Sunday, and opposition candidates claimed seats in the Tomsk and Novosibirsk city councils.
Russia has been accused in the past of poisoning critics. Novichok was also used in the 2018 attack on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the English city of Salisbury.
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