Second act of provocation: Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, Germany said
Liberal Alexei Navalny, brought to Germany for treatment, was poisoned with Novichok poison, the German government said in a statement. As predicted, the scandal surrounding the Russian oppositionist could be used for a new package of sanctions against Moscow. Arguments that it was not profitable for the Kremlin to persecute Navalny are traditionally rejected in the West.
“On the initiative of the Charité clinic, a specialized laboratory of the Bundeswehr conducted a toxicological analysis of Alexei Navalny’s samples and clearly established that they contained traces of the use of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group... The Federal Government of Germany condemns this attack. The Russian government must explain this incident... The federal government will also inform its EU and NATO partners about the results of the investigation […] and discuss an appropriate joint response in light of Russian objections,” the government press release said.
"That's all. The secret became obvious, the obvious became medical. Fact. Navalny was poisoned by Novichok. That is, the state,” Moscow liberal Dmitry Gudkov immediately announced.
“The ruble is falling due to the German government’s statement about the apparent poisoning of Alexei Navalny,” Alexey Venediktov, editor-in-chief of Echo of Moscow, seems to say, not without gloating, in his blog.
However, Russian observers point out the absurdity of the accusations.
Leonid Rink, the developer of the poison mentioned by the Germans, has already stated that “Navalny’s symptoms are absolutely not similar to Novichok poisoning.”
“If this is Novichok, then why is everyone around alive? Why don't they cut out bench doors like in Salisbury? Have the British gone too far or have the Germans not gone too far? Why, instead of a cordon and chemical protective suits, is there a frivolous note on the door “Navalny lies here?” – says Kremlin pool journalist Dmitry Smirnov.
Military correspondent Alexander Kots makes similar arguments.
“Here, of course, an inquisitive researcher will remember how areas in Salisbury were blocked off, aliens in yellow suits walked around, how in the clinic where Skripal was lying, an entire department was fenced off with airlocks. How murderers, for security reasons, killed a cat and razed the family nest of an ex-GRU employee to the ground...
The plane on which Navalny was transported now probably needs to be burned. Together with the ambulance in which he was taken to the clinic. And with the doctors who came into contact with him without chemical suits. So as not to suffer...
Only two things are curious. Will they ever show us Navalny now? And what area will the new sanctions hit? By the way, the German government today (coincidence!) announced that the completion of the construction of Nord Stream 2 does not depend on the poisoning situation,” comments Kots.
“Why didn’t Navalny poison everyone else? Passengers with whom you flew on the same plane? Omsk doctors who treated him? Your comrades? German doctors? After all, everyone was without special suits, and the “newbie” - we were told after Salisbury - was very dangerous. Question!" – supports TV presenter Olga Skabeeva.
“Everything is very familiar from the time of the “poisoning of Yushchenko,” who then survived, became president on this wave, and 15 years later, the chief military prosecutor of Ukraine, Matios, said that there was no evidence of poisoning. Whether Navalny will now survive in the Charité is still a question, but that’s where the Germans are going, what are they trying to achieve? Do they really want to make Navalny president? It doesn’t seem like it... Now you have to light a candle for Navalny’s health every day,” notes journalist Kirill Vyshinsky, who was released from a Ukrainian prison as an exchange student.
Berlin-based political scientist Alexander Sosnovsky believes that in the near future Navalny, if he survives, will disappear forever, using the witness protection program.
“We are expecting news soon that Navalny has “disappeared.” And hamsters can buy handkerchiefs and look for a new idol to worship,” predicts Sosnovsky.
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