The Russian opposition leader who was poisoned last month was removed from his medically induced coma Monday, according to German doctors.
Alexei Navalny, 44, fell ill on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. Two days later, he was transferred to a German hospital, where chemical experts confirmed “proof without doubt” that he had been poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent.
Doctors said Monday that Navalny, who was being weaned off mechanical ventilation, is already responding to speech as he comes out of the coma, but warned that “long-term consequences of the serious poisoning can still not be ruled out.”
While an investigation is ongoing, supporters have accused the Kremlin of poisoning Navalny.
The same nerve agent was used to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, England, in 2018.
A spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday she is reconsidering a German-Russian gas pipeline project in response to the poisoning.
Russia, meanwhile, has denied any involvement and accused Germany of failing to provide evidence of the poisoning.
With News Wire Services
