BERLIN—Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, a chemical nerve agent, the German government said Wednesday, presenting the strongest evidence yet that the attack could have been carried out by Russian state agencies. Chancellor Angela Merkel called on Moscow to explain the revelation, which she described as an attempted murder and a move to silence the leading critic of President Vladimir Putin. The U.S. said it was consulting with allies over a possible response. “This is shocking information about an attempted murder by poisoning one of the leading opposition figures in Russia,” Ms. Merkel told reporters in Berlin. The revelation—and any sanctions the West might impose—could herald a new low in relations between Russia and the West, which have deteriorated continuously since Moscow’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its subsequent annexation of Crimea.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 02, 2020 14:12 UTC