LONDON: US intelligence agencies have indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to have ordered the killing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, reported by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday. Alexei Navalny was killed at an Arctic prison camp in February.
Navalny, 47 years old at the time of his death, was known as one of Putin’s most vocal domestic critics. Despite being labeled as extremists by Russian authorities, his allies have accused Putin of planning his murder and have vowed to present evidence supporting their claim.
The Kremlin has consistently denied any involvement in the incident. Putin previously referred to Navalny’s passing as “sad” and showed his willingness to exchange the imprisoned politician with Western nations, on the condition that Navalny never return to Russia. Navalny’s associates have asserted ongoing negotiations regarding such a potential exchange.
According to sources familiar with the matter cited by the Journal, US intelligence agencies have reached the conclusion that Putin likely did not order Navalny’s assassination. However, Washington has not absolved Putin of broader responsibility for Navalny’s death.
This perspective stems from Navalny’s prolonged targeting by Russian authorities, his imprisonment on politically motivated charges, and his poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the US intelligence findings, described as “broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies,” including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit.
The US assessment incorporates a variety of information, including classified intelligence and analysis of public facts, such as the timing of Navalny’s demise and its impact on Putin’s reelection in March, according to sources cited by the paper.
Leonid Volkov, a senior aide to Navalny, dismissed the US findings as naive and ridiculous.
