Stricken Kremlin critic Navalny en route to Germany

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.