Russia: Kremlin critic, who was poisoned, detained on return

Jan 18, 2021 08:03 IST

Russian police detained leading opposition figure and top Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny at a Moscow airport on Sunday shortly after he returned home for the first time since his poisoning last summer. His detention prompted immediate condemnation from the European Union and calls for EU sanctions against Russia by Lithuania. Many of Navalny's top allies were also detained while waiting for him to arrive. Navalny was under treatment in Germany for five months after being poisoned by Novichok, a military grade nerve agent developed by Russia during years.