US official says Putin probably did not order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny
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US intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
WASHINGTON: US intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the death of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
While US officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who faced brutal conditions during his imprisonment, the intelligence community has found “no smoking gun” that Putin was responsible for Navalny’s death. Knew about the timing – which came immediately before the death of the Russian president. Re-election – or simply ordered it, according to the official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
Shortly after Navalny’s death, US President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible, but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.
At the time, Biden said the US did not know exactly what happened to Navalny, but “there is no doubt” that his death was “the result of something done by Putin and his thugs.”
Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opposition politician and Putin’s staunchest foe, died on February 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges he described as politically motivated. Was rejected.
He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from nerve-agent poisoning, which he blamed on the Kremlin.
Russian officials have only said Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied any involvement in both the poisoning and his death.
In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin overwhelmingly won reelection to a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the US intelligence determination.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – The Associated Press)