Navalny’s headquarters asks the Kremlin to help evacuate him abroad for medical treatment

Following an apparent poisoning, Alexey Navalny’s headquarters have officially asked the Kremlin to help evacuate him abroad for treatment. Dr. Anastasia Vasileva, Navalny’s personal physician and the chairman of the Doctors’ Alliance, wrote about this on Twitter. 

Vasileva also told Meduza that Navalny’s representatives are currently trying to obtain medical documentation and organize his evacuation from Omsk to Moscow. According to Vasileva, Navalny has yet to undergo the necessary tests to confirm his diagnosis.

Irina Kvasko, another Doctors’ Alliance representative, said that Navalny’s wife Yulia has been allowed in to see him. Reports emerged earlier in the day that ICU officials at the hospital in Omsk had refused to admit her.

Earlier in the day on August 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov promised to transfer Navalny abroad for treatment if requested. “Many Russian citizens go abroad for treatment these days, even though the borders are closed. And, of course, we’ll be ready to consider such appeals very promptly, is there are any,” Peskov said.

Alexey Navalny was hospitalized after falling violently ill aboard a plane from Tomsk to Moscow. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Omsk after Navalny passed out. He was subsequently moved to an intensive care unit and connected to a ventilator. He is currently in a coma, according to the local Health Department.

Navalny’s spokeswoman says he drank a cup of tea at the airport in Tomsk before boarding the plane. She suspects the beverage was poisoned. At the time of this writing, doctors have not yet announced their diagnosis of what caused Navalny’s sudden illness.