Critic accuses Putin of having him poisoned

The Kremlin has dismissed accusations that high-level officials ordered an attack on Alexei Navalny. On Thursday, the 44-year-old Russian opposition leader said only Russian President Vladimir Putin could be behind the poisoning that put him in a coma. Navalny spent 32 days in a German hospital after coming in contact with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok.

How did Russia respond? Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusation “absolutely groundless and unacceptable” and told reporters that “specialists” from the CIA had been giving Navalny instructions since he fell ill. In response, Navalny said he would sue Peskov and demanded the Kremlin release any evidence of CIA collaboration.

Dig deeper: This isn’t the first time this has happened. Read Mindy Belz’s report in Globe Trot about when Navalny was poisoned last year.