Navalny Tells Magazine Putin Was Behind Poisoning

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has told a German magazine that Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind his poisoning.In excerpts of his comments released Thursday by Der Spiegel, Navalny said, “I don’t have any other versions of how the crime was committed.”The Kremlin has denied any involvement.Navalny fell ill on an August 20 flight and was initially hospitalized in the Siberian city of Omsk.Russian doctors said they found no trace of poisoning, but after Navalny was transferred to a hospital in Germany, tests there showed he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, originally developed by the former Soviet Union. Subsequent tests by French and Swedish laboratories confirmed that result.The same type of nerve agent was used in a 2018 attack against a former spy in Britain.Navalny is a frequent critic of Putin and told Der Spiegel he plans to return to Russia.“My job now is to remain the guy who isn’t scared,” he told the magazine. “And I’m not scared.”Navalny spent 32 days in the hospital, and his German doctors have said he could make a full recovery.  
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