The German government has said Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition activist who is being treated in a Berlin hospital after collapsing in Siberia last month, was poisoned by the chemical nerve agent novichok.
In a statement, the government said it “strongly condemned” the poisoning and demanded the Kremlin provide an explanation “as a matter of urgency”.
It said the German foreign ministry would inform the Russian ambassador about the results of the investigation.
The statement said Charite, the university hospital where Mr Navalny has been treated since August 22, had asked a specialist laboratory of the Bundeswehr to carry out a toxicological examination of samples taken from Mr Navalny.
As a result, it was “proven beyond doubt” that he had been poisoned with a “chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group”, the statement said.
The government said it would inform its partners in the EU and Nato about the results of the examination. “It will consult with its partners. about an appropriate joint reaction,” it said.
It also said that the government would contact the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.