Hospital: Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is out of a medically induced coma

After being placed in a medically induced coma, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is "being weaned off mechanical ventilation" and is "responding to verbal stimuli," Berlin's Charité Hospital announced on Monday.

Last week, the German government said tests showed "unequivocal evidence" that a "chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group" was used to poison Navalny, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Charité Hospital said it "remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects" of Navalny's "severe poisoning."

Navalny became sick on Aug. 20 while on a flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow. Before being flown to Berlin, Navalny was treated by Russian doctors who claimed he was not poisoned. The Kremlin has denied playing any role in the incident.

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In 2018, a Novichok nerve agent was used to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy living in England, and his daughter. These chemical weapons were first developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and few scientists outside of Russia have much experience working with them, CNN reports.