Alexey Navalny Tricked Spy into Revealing How He Was Poisoned

A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Alexey Navalny has revealed how he was poisoned in August - with the lethal nerve agent Novichok planted in his underpants.

The stunning disclosure from an agent who belonged to an elite toxins team in Russia's FSB security service came in a lengthy phone call following the unmasking of the unit by CNN and the online investigative outfit Bellingcat last week.   In what he was told was a debriefing, Konstantin Kudryavtsev also talked about others involved in the poisoning in the Siberian city of Tomsk, and how he was sent to clean things up.   But the agent was not speaking to an official in Russia's National Security Council as he thought. He was talking to Navalny himself, who almost died after being poisoned in August.   Navalny has long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places and campaigning against the ruling United Russia party. Putin essentially confirmed last week that FSB agents tailed Navalny but said if Russia had wanted him dead, "they would've probably finished it."   The Bellingcat-CNN-Spiegel investigation found that the FSB toxins team of about six to 10 agents trailed Navalny for more than three years. After identifying most of the team, journalists tried to contact them and their superiors.   One man, Oleg Tayakin, slammed the door shut when questioned by CNN. Others did not respond. At the same time, Navalny was also making calls. To begin with, he told the agents who he was, and those he contacted immediately ended the call. For the final call to Kudryavtsev, his team decided on a different approach: a sting operation. How Navalny did it Navalny, who is still recovering at a secret location in Germany, posed as a senior official from...