Novichok: Vladimir Putin suggests Alexei Navalny maybe poisoned himself

Alexei Navalny may have poisoned himself with Novichok, Russian President Vladimir Putin is said to have claimed.

Alexei Navalny takes the air in a Berlin park. Picture: Instagram via AFP

Alexei Navalny may have poisoned himself with Novichok, President Vladimir Putin is said to have claimed as the Kremlin critic was discharged from hospital in Germany.

Mr Putin made the allegation when he spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on the telephone, Le Monde reported.

The Russian leader described Mr Navalny as an “internet troublemaker who has simulated illnesses in the past,” the newspaper said, citing sources. The Kremlin said the report was inaccurate.

Mr Navalny, Mr Putin’s biggest domestic rival, collapsed during a flight across Siberia on August 20. He spent two days in a hospital in Omsk, western Siberia, before being flown to Germany.

He was released on Wednesday from the Charite clinic in Berlin after 32 days of treatment, including more than a fortnight in a medically induced coma.

Doctors said while Mr Navalny, 44, could fully recover, it was too early to gauge any long-term effects of his “severe poisoning”. He wrote on Instagram on Wednesday he could not hold a pen or throw a ball with his left hand.

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses members of the Federation Council at the Kremlin in Moscow on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Germany says it has unequivocal evidence that Mr Navalny was targeted with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent used to try to kill Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, in Salisbury in 2018. Russia says there is no proof Mr Navalny was poisoned.

Mr Navalny reacted with typical dark humour to the Le Monde report. He joked on Instagram that Mr Putin had seen through his “cunning plan” to “die in an Omsk hospital and end up in an Omsk morgue where they would have established my cause of death as ‘he lived long enough’.”

“I cooked up Novichok in my kitchen. Took a quiet swig on the plane. Fell into a coma. But Putin outplayed me. He just can’t be outsmarted. I lay like a fool in a coma for 18 days, but did not achieve my goal,” he wrote.

Mr Macron appeared unconvinced by Mr Putin’s claim. He told the UN on Tuesday Russia needed to produce a “swift and flawless” explanation and said the use of a banned chemical weapon was a “red line”.

A mock offer of ‘Novichok Tea’ is seen in front of an effigy of Russian President Vladimir Putin outside the Russian embassy in Berlin during a protest on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Although the Kremlin denies ever having produced Novichok, several scientists have admitted taking part in state-backed programs to develop it. Vil Mirzayanov, the chemist who revealed the development of the military-grade agent, apologised to Mr Navalny.

“I took part in this criminal business, developing this substance that he was poisoned with,” Mr Mirzayanov, who now lives in the US, told the TV Dozhd online channel on Saturday.

Pro-Kremlin figures have offered a bewildering array of explanations for his collapse, ranging from high or low blood sugar to excess dieting.

“It’s clear that the Russian authorities have one aim: to scatter different theories and hope that one of them is believed,” Kira Yarmysh, Mr Navalny’s spokeswoman, said. He will recover in Germany before returning to Russia and continuing his efforts to unseat Mr Putin, she added.

Mr Navalny’s investigations into alleged corruption by Mr Putin and his inner circle are watched by tens of millions and have triggered nationwide protests. He almost lost the use of his right eye in 2017 after a pro-Kremlin activist hurled a chemical into his face. He wrote on Wednesday that his immediate plans were to see “a physiotherapist every day. Possibly a rehabilitation centre. Stand on one leg. Take back complete control of my fingers.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was free to return home at any time. “We wish him a speedy recovery,” he said.

The Times