RUSSIA

Navalny taken out of coma

Police vehicles in front of the Charite Hospital, where Alexei Navalny is being treated. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa/File photo.

The Russian dissident is said to be responding to verbal stimuli.

Russian dissident Alexei Navalny has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation, the Berlin hospital where he is being treated said on Monday.

A statement from the Charite hospital in the German capital said his condition "has improved."

Navalny is said to be responding to verbal stimuli.

"It remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," the statement said.

Nerve agent attack

Navalny, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critics, was transported to Germany in a comatose state on August 22, two days after falling ill on a domestic Russian flight.

Germany has since said there is "unequivocal" evidence that he was the victim of a nerve agent attack.

The Russian government denies any involvement in the poisoning, which has strained relations between Moscow and Berlin.