Poison from Ecuadorian tree frog used to kill Alexey Navalny, European lab tests show

Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny was very likely killed using the poison epibatidine, according to multiple European laboratories that analysed biomaterial taken from his body after his death, independent investigative outlet The Insider reported on Saturday.

All the laboratories found traces of epibatidine, an extremely toxic poison extracted from the skin of a South American tree frog, in samples smuggled out of Russia following Navalny’s death in 2024. The neurotoxin can cause complete paralysis, with doses becoming fatal once paralysis causes respiratory failure, according to The Insider. 

“Russia claimed that Navalny died of natural causes. But given the toxicity of epibatidine and reported symptoms, poisoning was highly likely the cause of his death,” a joint statement issued on Saturday by the UK, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands read.  

“Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” the statement went on, adding that Russia's “repeated disregard for international law and the Chemical Weapons Convention” was clear.

Yulia Navalnaya reacted to the news on Saturday by saying that she had always known her husband had been poisoned. “Now there is proof: Putin killed Alexey with a chemical weapon,” she said. “I am grateful to the European states for the meticulous work they carried out over two years and for uncovering the truth. Vladimir Putin is a murderer. He must be held accountable for all his crimes.”

Monday will mark two years since Navalny suddenly died in his cell shortly after returning from a walk at the remote Arctic penal colony where he was serving multiple custodial sentences, according to the official version of events.

“What we know about Navalny’s condition before death ... aligns precisely with what you would expect from ... epibatidine,” Alexander Polupan, who had treated Navalny for Novichok poisoning in the Siberian city of Omsk in 2020, told The Insider.