Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny is now able to breathe without external support, he said in his first public statement since being poisoned’ last month.
According to the German
administration, Navalny was poisoned’ with the nerve agent Novichok, who posted
a photo of him on Instagram surrounded by his wife and two children.
In the title of the
post, he wrote: "Hey, this is novelty. I miss you. I can still hardly do
anything, but yesterday I could breathe all day on my own. Completely on my
own. But no outside help, not even a simple ventilator in my throat. I loved
it. An amazing process that many appreciate. I highly recommend.
After drinking a cup of
tea at the airport, Navalny fell on a flight from Tomsk, Siberia to Moscow. The
flight made an emergency landing in Omsk, where it was treated for two days by
Russian doctors, who denied being poisoned’ in public statements. However, a
city medical source told Reuters on Monday that doctors immediately suspected
poisoning during his treatment. Two days later, he was flown’ to Berlin under a
special medical plan, where he is being treated at Charity Hospital.
On Monday, the hospital
said in a statement that it was "improving the situation" and
indicated that Navalny was now able to speak.
A German security
official told the New York Times on Monday that Navalny was speaking, was well
aware of what had happened to him, and had expressed a desire to return to
Russia. "He does not intend to go into exile in Germany," the
official said. "He wants to go to Russia and he wants to continue his
mission."
German officials say
French and Swedish laboratories have confirmed reports that Novichok used
Neville to poison him. French President Emmanuel Macron has called his Russian
counterpart Vladimir Putin for an explanation.
Russian officials have
denied any involvement in the poisoning, suggesting that Navalny may have
fallen ill for other reasons, or suggest that others have been exposed’ to the
poison.
On Tuesday, Alexei
Nareshkin, head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, told reporters that
there was no poison in Navalny's body when he left Russia.
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