US intelligence believes Vladimir Putin probably didn't order Alexei Navalny to be killed - Times of India

Original source (on modern site) | Article images: [1]

NEW DELHI:

US intelligence

agencies have concluded that Russian President

Vladimir Putin

likely did not order the

killing

of

opposition politician

Alexei Navalny at an

Arctic prison camp

in February, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Navalny, who was 47 years old at the time of his death, was a prominent critic of Putin within Russia. His allies, labeled as extremists by Russian authorities, have accused Putin of orchestrating his murder and have pledged to provide evidence supporting their claim.

Despite these accusations, the Kremlin has consistently denied any involvement in Navalny's death.

Putin himself described Navalny's demise as "sad" and claimed he was willing to facilitate a prisoner exchange with the West, provided Navalny never returned to Russia. Navalny's associates asserted that discussions regarding such an exchange were ongoing.

According to the Wall Street Journal's sources, while US intelligence agencies believe Putin likely did not order Navalny's killing, they have not absolved him of overall responsibility for Navalny's death. This conclusion stems from Navalny's history of being targeted by Russian authorities, including his imprisonment on charges deemed politically motivated by the West, as well as his poisoning with a nerve agent in 2020, an incident the Kremlin has denied involvement in.

The Journal noted that the US assessment has been broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the office of the director of National Inelligence, and the State Department's intelligence unit. The assessment is based on a variety of information, including classified intelligence, and an analysis of public facts, such as the timing of Navalny's death and its impact on Putin's re-election in March.

In response to the US findings, Leonid Volkov, a senior aide to Navalny, criticized them as naive and ridiculous.