Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to use biological weapons against his own people to stay in power, France said on Saturday, after it and four other European countries said they believed jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by a deadly toxin.
"We now know that Vladimir Putin is prepared to use biological weapons against his own people to remain in power," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot wrote on X, adding that Navalny had died in prison in 2024 "as a result of poisoning with one of the deadliest nerve agents".
The five European countries said earlier that they believed Navalny died as a result of being poisoned by a toxin found in the skin of dart frogs native to South America.
