MFA Ukraine calls for Russia sanctions over Navalny poisoning

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has condemned the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent from the novichok group.

"We strongly condemn yet another criminal act by the Russian authorities who continue their attacks on democracy and human rights in the Russian Federation and beyond. We are convinced that the international community must respond appropriately to this inhuman reprisal by the Kremlin of an opposition politician," reads the statement published on the foreign ministry's website.

Read alsoU.S. adds Russian chemical research facilities to sanctions listOnly a unified resolute position and firm condemnation on the part of the civilized world, including through imposing sanctions, can "force Russian authorities to stop committing crimes, grossly violating human rights, and destroying the legal foundations of the global order both in relation to leading opposition politicians and entire states," the ministry stressed.

We strongly condemn yet another criminal act by the Russian authorities who continue their attacks on democracy and human rights

Navalny poisoning: background

• Russian opposition's Alexei Navalny felt sick on board the plane he was flying from the city of Tomsk to Moscow on August 20.
• His rapidly deteriorating condition forced the captain to perform an emergency landing in Omsk.
• Navalny's press secretary assumed the politician's tea had been laced with poison.
• Navalny was evacuated from Omsk to Germany on an ambulance aircraft for further medical treatment on Saturday, August 22.
• Experts with the Bundeswehr laboratory found traces of poison from the Novichok group in the body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In this regard, Berlin calls on Moscow to explain the circumstances of the poisoning of the Russian opposition figure.