U.S. Intelligence Agencies' Report Released: Who Was Responsible For Navalny's Death?

By Lisa Pelgin | Sunday, 28 April 2024 12:00 PM
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U.S. Intelligence Agencies' Report Released: Who Was Responsible For Navalny's Death?
Image Credit : Alexei Navalny/Reuters

In a controversial report, U.S. intelligence agencies have reportedly concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unlikely to have directly orchestrated the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

This conclusion has been met with skepticism and criticism, with one critic dismissing the report as "absurd."

Navalny, a prominent critic of Putin's regime, was found dead in an infamous Arctic penal colony in February. His death sparked global outrage and mourning, as he was widely regarded as Putin's most formidable adversary.

According to sources familiar with the matter who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, several US agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department's intelligence unit, concur that Putin is probably not directly culpable for Navalny's death.

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The agencies' conclusion is based on both classified details and publicly available information, such as the timing of Navalny's death and its impact on Putin's re-election in March. These findings have been disseminated to various European intelligence agencies, but doubts persist about Putin's lack of direct involvement in Navalny's death, given his firm control over Russia.

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Leonid Volkov, a close associate of Navalny, vehemently criticized the U.S. intelligence agencies' assessment. "The idea of Putin being not informed and not approving killing Navalny is ridiculous," Volkov told The Journal, adding that American spy agencies "clearly do not understand anything about how modern day Russia runs."

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Navalny's death, which occurred during a walk in the penal colony on February 16, according to Russia's prison service, led to a worldwide outpouring of grief and the imposition of 500 new sanctions by the United States against Moscow. It also coincided with negotiations between Russia and Western officials over a prisoner exchange involving Navalny and imprisoned Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

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The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment on the matter when approached by The Journal. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed The Journal's report. "I would not say that this is high-quality material that deserves any attention," he said, according to state news agency Tass. "Some very empty reasoning. Apparently, they were planted for Saturday reading for the world audience."

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