Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been pictured for the first time since falling ill on a flight due to a suspected poisoning as he revealed he is now breathing on his own and plans to return to his home country.

“Yesterday I was able to breathe on my own all day long, all by myself, without any outside help,” he wrote in an Instagram post, translated by state-run media. “I did not even use the simplest valve in my throat. I liked it very much.”