UK intelligence sources have established that it’s unlikely Russian president Vladimir Putin directly orchestrated the assassination of his significant rival Alexei Navalny at a polar prison site in February, states a recent report by the Wall Street Journal.
With age 47 at the time of his death, Navalny was a substantial critic of Putin’s governance. His uproar-creating supporters, considered radicals by the government, held Putin accountable for the alleged homicide and stated that they possess evidence to substantiate their claim.
The central office in Kremlin has dismissed any national participation in the assassination, and last month, Putin expressed sorrow for Navalny’s death, offering to return him to the West in a prisoner trade, under the condition that Navalny would never come back to Russia. Navalny’s collaborators mentioned that discussions in this regard were in progress.
The Wall Street Journal, referencing anonymous insiders, commented that it is improbable that Putin commissioned Navalny’s murder in February, according to recent conclusions by US intelligence agencies.
The report added that despite these indications, Washington has not yet absolved Putin of potential overall liability for Navalny’s demise, in light of the continuous attack on the opposition politician by Russian authorities over the years, including his imprisonment on politically-driven charges and an attempt on his life in 2020 using nerve gas. The Kremlin continues to deny any involvement in this 2020 incident.
Reuters has not independently validated the Journal’s report, which claims the conclusions are widely accepted within various intelligence bodies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Intelligence Director’s Office and the State Department’s intelligence division.
Assertions by the US were formulated based on an array of data, some of it highly confidential, combined with the analysis of public facts such as the timing of the opposition’s death and its impact on Putin’s re-election in March, the paper referred to its informants.
Leonid Volkov, a high-ranking associate of Navalny, criticised the US investigations as both unsophisticated and absurd.
