Russian opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny has been discharged from the hospital where he was being treated for novichok poisoning.
The 44-year-old became unwell on a domestic flight in Siberia last month and was airlifted to Berlin in a coma.
Laboratories in Germany, France and Sweden confirmed he was poisoned with the same nerve agent used to target Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Charite hospital in Germany said Mr Navalny’s “condition had improved sufficiently for him to be discharged from acute inpatient care”.
It added based on his progress and current condition, “the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible”.
But the hospital cautioned “it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning”.
Mr Navalny had been in hospital for 32 days – 24 of them in intensive care.
His team said they searched the Siberian hotel room where he stayed prior to the flight on 20 August – an hour after the news broke he had been taken ill.
They claimed he was poisoned using a water bottle, gathered up as part of any evidence “that could even hypothetically be useful”.
All the items were passed to German authorities because “the fact that the case would not be investigated in Russia was quite obvious”, they added.
The UK and other Western countries have demanded answers from Russia.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a “full, transparent investigation into what happened” and pledged to “join international efforts to ensure justice is done”.
Moscow has said it is yet to see evidence of a crime and has declined to open an investigation so far.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement.
SKY NEWS
