Negotiations were in progress for a prisoner exchange involving Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at the time of his death on Feb. 16, but no proposal had been presented to the Kremlin, two Western officials briefed on the discussions told Politico.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed in prison to prevent his exchange with Vadim Krasikov, a convicted Russian hitman sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany, Anti-Corruption Foundation chair Maria Pevchikh claimed on Feb. 26.
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been released to his mother, Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh announced on social media Feb. 24.
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Feb. 22 he will announce sanctions against Russian leader Vladimir Putin in response to the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
Russian Telegram channels said that six people who were detained in St. Petersburg while attending makeshift memorial ceremonies were told that they "must report to the enlistment office within a few days to verify their information and register for military service."
The U.K.'s sanctions will specifically target six individuals "responsible for the custody" of Navalny, ban them from traveling to the U.K., and have their assets frozen.
The White House says it is preparing “major sanctions” against Russia in response to opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s murder in an Arctic penal colony late last week, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Feb. 20.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called on the European Union not to recognize the results of the Russian presidential election in March.
"We do not consider such demands at all, especially from Mr. Borrell," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference, as cited by RIA Novosti.
The European Union demanded on Feb. 19 that Russia allow "an independent and transparent international investigation" into the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, for which many world leaders have blamed the Kremlin.
Biden, who had previously stated Putin was responsible for Navalny's death, said that "we already have sanctions" but confirmed he is weighing new ones.
"We know why exactly Putin killed Alexei (Navalny) three days ago. We'll tell you about it soon," said his widow, Yulia Navalnaya.
Meanwhile, since 2021 Krasnikov has been serving a life sentence for the murder of an exiled Chechen-Georgian dissident, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, in Berlin in 2019. Investigative reports suggested that Krasnikov is an agent of Russian intelligence agencies.
The prison administration told his mother that Navalny’s body had been transferred to a nearby morgue in Salekhard, the capital of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, Yarmysh said on Feb. 17. Navalny's mother went to the morgue but she was told that they did not have the body, according to Yarmysh.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in jail on Feb. 16 follows a long list of murders and suspicious deaths of opponents of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Since he came to power in 1999, more than 20 Putin critics have been killed or died mysteriously. Many other enemies of the
"Alexei Navalny's death occurred on February 16 at 2:17 p.m. local time, according to the official message to Alexei's mother," said his spokesperson, Kira Yarmysh.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death on Feb. 16 did not come as a surprise for those familiar with Russian politics. Navalny was Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's main opponent, and the Kremlin had used all the tools at its disposal to shut him up. He was sentenced in several fabricated
Multiple people have been detained in Russia as the police moved to disrupt events across the country honoring opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died earlier on Feb. 16.
Alexei Navalny's relatives were still not officially notified of his death, the Russian oppositionist's colleague, Ivan Zhdanov, said on YouTube on Feb. 16.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said U.S. President Joe Biden on Feb. 16.
"House members blocking critical aid to Ukraine can revel in another high-five for (Russian dictator Vladimir) Putin who just murdered his most vocal and visible critic," said John Fetterman, a Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, on social media.
"From the Secretary General (Jens Stoltenberg) of NATO and the U.S. leadership to (German Chancellor Olaf) Scholz, (U.K. Prime Minister Rishi) Sunak and (Volodymyr) Zelensky – these are the perpetrators of Navalny’s death," Vyacheslav Volodin claimed.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said that if the news about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death is confirmed, "Russia is responsible," and it would be a "further sign of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's brutality."
The reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is unlikely to spark mass protests across the country, the Russian independent outlet Meduza reported on Feb. 16, citing four Russian official sources.
Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said on Feb. 16 that she does not know whether to believe news on Navalny's death, as they are coming from Russian state-controlled media.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that he was "deeply saddened and disturbed" by reports of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the world to "to end the naivete" about Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in light of news about Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's alleged death on Feb. 16.
Independent Russian media Novaya Gazeta said on Feb. 16 that they will demand the body camera recordings of medical service personnel working in the penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has allegedly died.
Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's "death is further proof that for dictators, human life has no value."
Emergency medics from the Labytnangi city hospital "arrived in less than seven minutes" to the penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been held and spent "over half an hour" trying to revive him, Russian state-controlled media Interfax wrote on Feb. 16.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference in Germany that "Obviously (Alexei Navalny) was killed by (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. Like thousands of others who have been tortured."
Alexei Navalany “probably paid for his courage with his life," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said during a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 16, as reported by DW.
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