Polish authorities have detained a Belarusian suspected of organizing, on Moscow's behalf, an attack on Leonid Volkov, a close associate of late Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on April 19.
"A Belarusian working for Russia who ordered two Poles to assassinate Navalny's associate – detained," Tusk said on X. The two attackers are also in custody, he added.
The prime minister did not name Volkov explicitly, but he was most likely referring to an incident in Lithuania in March when unknown assailants attacked Volkov with hammers.
Volkov, one of the top members of Navalny's presidential campaign in 2018 and a former chair of his Anti-Corruption Foundation, was injured but survived the attack. The oppositionist blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the assault.
Tusk also reminded that the Polish authorities had detained a Polish citizen who allegedly planned to assassinate Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky for Russian intelligence services.
"There will be no leniency for collaborators with Russian intelligence services," Tusk said.
Chris York
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