MOSCOW — Alexei Navalny, Russia’s main opposition figure, was in a coma Thursday after drinking a cup of tea that his spokeswoman suspected was deliberately laced with poison — a method used before in plots linked to Russian agents by Western intelligence and others.
Kira Yarmysh said on Twitter that Navalny, 44, started to feel ill during a flight to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk, leading the pilot to make an emergency landing in Omsk, where he was taken to a hospital and was on a ventilator.
Navalny’s possible poisoning is the latest in a series of similar fates suffered by high-profile Kremlin critics, stoking speculation of the regime’s involvement. Yarmysh asserted on Twitter: “This is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”
“Whether he personally gave the order or not, the blame is entirely with him,” she added.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that an investigation will be opened “if [Navalny] was actually poisoned,” adding that he wished Navalny a “speedy recovery, just like any other citizen of our country.” (Washington Post)