Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny wakes from coma

Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Doctors in Germany said Monday that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny woke from a coma they said was the result of a nerve agent poisoning.

The Charite hospital said doctors removed Navalny from his medically induced coma and mechanical ventilation. They said he responded to verbal stimuli.

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

Doctors said Wednesday he was poisoned with a nerve agent from the Novichok-class group, similar to the poison that nearly killed a Russian spy and his daughter in Britain two years ago.

Navalny became sick on a plane traveling from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. Two days later, at the urging of his family and political team, he was taken to Berlin for treatment.

The European Council condemned the poisoning Thursday "in the strongest words possible," saying the use of chemical weapons "is completely unacceptable under any circumstances."

The Kremlin has denied responsibility for the attack against Navalny.