World must respond appropriately to Navalny poisoning – Ukrainian Foreign Ministry

"The German government has released unequivocal evidence of traces of a chemical agent from the Novichok group in samples taken from Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny. We strongly condemn another criminal act by the Russian authorities that continue to infringe on democracy and human rights in Russia and abroad," the ministry said.

It also said it was convinced that "the international community must respond appropriately to the Kremlin's inhumane crackdown on an opposition politician."

"Only a unanimous decisive position and a firm condemnation from the civilized world, including sanctions, can force the Russian authorities to stop committing crimes, brutally violating human rights and destroying the legal foundations of the world order, against leading opposition politicians and entire states," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny fell unwell on August 20 on a plane en route from Tomsk to Moscow. The airliner urgently landed in Omsk. Navalny was hospitalized. On August 22, he was taken to Berlin. Navalny is in a coma. His condition is severe but stable.

The German government said on September 2 that toxicological tests on samples taken from Navalny had shown that the Novichok nerve agent had been used in his poisoning.

Officials from the EU, the United States, Germany, Lithuania, and Britain have already stated the need to bring to justice those responsible for the poisoning of the opposition politician.

At the same time, the Kremlin said that at the time of Navalny's transportation to Berlin, there were allegedly no traces of toxic agents in his body.

op