An ambulance aircraft evacuating Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny for medical treatment in a German hospital ascends after taking off at an airport in Omsk, Russia August 22, 2020. Alexei Navalny was taken ill with suspected poisoning en route from Tomsk to Moscow on a plane, which made an emergency landing in Omsk. The local hospital delivering medical support to Navalny later allowed German doctors to fly him to Germany for treatment. REUTERS/Alexey Malgavko
August 22, 2020
OMSK, Russia (Reuters) – A plane carrying Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny took off from the Russian city of Omsk early on Saturday headed for Germany, his spokeswoman said on Twitter.
Gravely ill Kremlin critic Navalny was meant to be airlifted to Berlin to receive medical care after the opposition politician’s allies accused the Russian authorities of trying to stop his evacuation.
Navalny fell ill earlier this week while flying back to Moscow from the Siberian city of Tomsk, where he had met allies ahead of regional elections next month. He was taken on a stretcher, motionless, from the plane and rushed to hospital after it made an emergency landing in Omsk.
(Reporting by Anton Zverev; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by William Mallard)
