U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s death was not the result of a direct order from President Vladimir Putin, according to a report.
Sources familiar with the postmortem investigation told the Wall Street Journal that Putin did not issue an order for Navalny to be killed when he died and that the circumstances surrounding Nalvany’s death remain a mystery.
The Russian government reported no Feb. 16 that Navalny died in a penal colony near the Arctic Circle after he fainted mid-stroll. That came after the opposition leader had a brief meeting with his lawyer after not being able to reach him for three weeks. In that span, Navalny missed a virtual court date, and letters sent to him were not delivered.
While Navalny was Putin’s strongest opponent, the timing of his death came very close to the Russian elections a month later. Mourners took to the streets two weeks before the vote to commemorate Navalny. Putin still went on to win the election with 88% of the vote.
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Immediately following Navalny’s reported death, President Joe Biden pinned the blame on Putin. Biden had reportedly been working out a prisoner exchange to free Navalny days before the Kremlin announced his death.
Navalny, who has been on a mission to expose corruption at the Kremlin, was originally sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison in 2021 for alleged extremism. Nine years were added to his sentence in 2022, along with an additional 19 last year.
