Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was seen walking down the stairs in a photo (seen on the left) posted on his Instagram feed yesterday, five days after a Berlin hospital said he had been taken off a ventilator and could breathe independently.
Navalny, the leading opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin, fell ill on a domestic flight in Siberia last month and was airlifted to Berlin while still in a coma.
“Let me tell you how my recovery is going. It is already a clear path although a long one,” Navalny wrote.
In the Instagram post he said he had difficulties using his phone, pouring water or climbing stairs because his hands failed him and his legs trembled.
Germany says laboratory tests in three countries have determined that Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.
Western governments have demanded an explanation from Russia.
The Kremlin denied Russia was responsible for Navalny’s illness and said that there was not enough evidence of his poisoning.
Russian authorities have refused to open a formal probe into Navalny’s case.
Alexei Navalny
