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In the case of poisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, the indications of involvement by Russian government agencies are becoming more concrete. According to information from SPIEGEL, the toxin used against Navalny is said to be a further development of previously known Novichok nerve agent compositions.
The poison is even “harsher” than previous forms, explained the president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, in a secret round last week. (Read the full story here.)
For the German government, the composition of the toxin is the most important indication that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be involved in the case. The more complex, new and rare the chemical composition of the poison, the more likely it is that it will only be possible to achieve it with the help of the Russian state apparatus, they say.
German security authorities currently assume that only a Russian secret service could have poisoned Navalny himself on the way to or at the airport. Since the opposition politician has been shown to have been closely monitored by the FSB national secret service, no other option is seen.
Navalny suddenly collapsed on a flight from Siberia to Moscow in late August and complained of severe seizures. Putin’s critic is now being treated at the Berlin Charité, has awakened from his coma and is responding.
The German authorities have now reconstructed the crime.
Therefore, the perpetrators’ calculation was that Navalny should die aboard the plane. Only the brave intervention of the pilot, who made a spontaneous emergency landing in Omsk, and subsequent treatment of Navalny with an antidote at the local hospital would have saved his life.
The Kremlin has vehemently denied that it had anything to do with the assassination attempt. Instead, Moscow accuses the federal government of wanting to play politics with the case. On Friday, Moscow demanded that Russian investigators question Navalny in Berlin.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is also involved in the investigation. According to information from SPIEGEL, a delegation from the OPCW was said to have visited the Charité in Berlin over the weekend and received blood and urine samples from the poisoned politician for further investigation.
