Leonid Volkov: Navalny's former chief of staff attacked with a hammer in Lithuania

CNN
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Alexei Navalny's chief of staff was attacked outside his home in Lithuania on Tuesday, a team of Kremlin critics said, adding to a crackdown on Russian opponents abroad following his death in an Arctic penal colony last month. He warned that it was likely to be strengthened.

“Leonid Volkov was attacked outside his house. Someone broke the window of his car and sprayed tear gas into his eyes, then the attackers started hitting Leonid with a hammer,” Navalny reported. Kankira said. Yarmish said in a social media post.

Ivan Zhdanov, chairman of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, said Volkov was attacked “near his home” in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius and was “hit in the leg with a hammer and punched in the arm.”

Images shared by Zhdanov showed Volkov with a swollen face and bloody legs. Another photo shows broken glass and blood next to the car. Zhdanov said in a social media post that Volkov was later taken to the hospital.

Ivan Zhdanov, chairman of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation, said: “It is clear that we will aggressively pursue those who left the Russian Federation after Navalny's murder.” CNN cannot independently verify Zhdanov's claims.

Lithuanian authorities are investigating Tuesday's attack, the country's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis announced. Post to X. “The perpetrators will be held accountable for their crimes,” Landsbergis said, calling the attack “shocking”.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said there was “no doubt” that the attack was “premeditated”.

“There is no doubt that such things are being planned. Desecration of the Lithuanian flag, look at the recent increase in incidents of monuments,” he said, referring to a series of desecrations of the Lithuanian flag that took place last week. did.

Authorities in the Baltic states will “assess, investigate and, if possible, find the guilty,” Gitanas said, before addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin directly.

“One thing I can tell you, President Putin, is that no one is afraid of you here.”

The attack took place just days before Russia's presidential election, which is seen as a constitutional check on President Vladimir Putin, who is all but certain to win a fifth term.

Volkov, who was chairman of Navalny's anti-corruption foundation until 2023, dismissed February's election as a “circus” and said on social media that it was meant to demonstrate overwhelming popular support for President Putin. Ta.

“You need to understand what the March 'elections' mean for President Putin. They are a propaganda campaign to spread despair among voters,” Volkov said.

The rebel figure had lived outside Russia for several years for security reasons. He faces multiple politically motivated charges in Russia.

Navalny, Russia's most prominent anti-Putin voice, died in a Russian prison last month, sparking condemnation from world leaders and accusations from his aides that he had been murdered. The Kremlin denied any involvement in his death.

Navalny's team and many other Russian activists have fled the country in recent years as Moscow's increasingly repressive regime ramps up its crackdown on dissent. In 2021, a Moscow court said the Anti-Corruption Foundation was an “extremist” group in a ruling that was widely condemned by the international community.

This is a developing story and will be updated.