Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny says he will return to Russia on Sunday

Navalny wrote on Instagram that he had probably almost fully recovered his health now and said it was time to return to Russia despite various legal threats hanging over him.

Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Wednesday he would fly back to Russia on Jan. 17 from Germany where he has been convalescing after being poisoned.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on February 29, 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of murdered Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov in downtown Moscow. - Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who is currently in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack, said on January 13 he intends to return to Russia on January 17. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (AFP)

Navalny, one of President Vladimir Putin's leading critics, was airlifted to Germany for treatment in August after collapsing on a plane in what Germany and other Western nations say was an attempt to murder him with a Novichok nerve agent.

Russian authorities deny any involvement in the incident.

Navalny wrote on Instagram that he had probably almost fully recovered his health now and said it was time to return to Russia despite various legal threats hanging over him.