German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday said Russian President Vladimir Putin critic Alexy Navalny who is in intensive care in a Berlin hospital, was poisoned with a Soviet-style nerve agent in an attempt to murder him. The German government said that testing by a German military laboratory showed "proof without a doubt of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group." Experts say the findings point strongly to Russian state involvement. Merkel demanded answers from Moscow. The Berlin hospital treating Navalny remains on a ventilator though his condition is improving. It said Navalny faces a long recovery and couldn't rule out long-term effects on his health.