The Russian government has strongly disputed a US intelligence report that suggests President Vladimir Putin probably did not order the death of opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who passed away in an Arctic prison camp in February.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the report, which was first published by The Wall Street Journal, by telling state-run media, “I would not say that this is high-quality material that deserves any attention. Some very empty reasoning.” This stance not only reflects the Kremlin’s outright rejection of the findings but also coincides with the disbelief expressed by Navalny’s supporters.
Reuters could not independently verify the Journal report, which cited sources as saying the finding had been “broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit.”
Contrary to the US intelligence community’s consensus, Leonid Volkov, a senior Navalny aide, labeled the US findings as naive and ridiculous. He asserted that the idea of Putin being uninformed and not approving of Navalny’s killing is absurd, emphasizing a deep understanding of Russian governance under Putin’s rule. Volkov commented, “The idea of Putin being not being informed and not approving killing Navalny is ridiculous.”
The US report, relying on classified and public information, including the timing of Navalny’s death near Putin’s re-election, posits that while the Russian leader may not have directly planned the opposition figure’s demise, he still bears responsibility for the harsh conditions that led to it. The intelligence assessment has been broadly accepted within the US intelligence community, as noted by sources familiar with the matter.
Despite the Kremlin’s denial of any state involvement in Navalny’s demise, the report details a long history of the opposition leader being targeted by Russian authorities. His 2020 poisoning with a nerve agent, which Navalny survived, had previously raised international suspicions of Kremlin complicity, though the Russian government has consistently denied any involvement in the incident.
The US intelligence report’s conclusion that Putin likely did not directly order Navalny’s death has provoked a range of reactions.Some European intelligence allies reportedly doubt the veracity of the US finding.
Relevant articles:
– Kremlin Disputes Report Putin Didn’t Order Navalny’s Death, thedailybeast.com, 04/29/2024
– Kremlin Unlikely To Have Ordered Navalny’s Death, Says U.S. Intelligence, i24NEWS, Sat, 27 Apr 2024 13:53:55 GMT
– US intelligence believes Putin probably didn’t order Navalny death — WSJ, TRT World, Sat, 27 Apr 2024 21:55:47 GMT
– US intelligence believes Vladimir Putin probably didn’t order Alexei Navalny to be killed, The Times of India, Sat, 27 Apr 2024 10:02:00 GMT
– Putin probably did not order Navalny killed: US report, Yahoo News Australia, Sat, 27 Apr 2024 10:45:42 GMT