Lithuania
Updated on March 13, 2024, 8:28 a.m
© Reuters
Since Alexei Navalny’s death, his confidant Leonid Volkov has also feared for his life. Now he was attacked in exile – the background to the crime is the subject of investigations.
Russian opposition figure Leonid Volkov – a close confidant of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died in Russian custody – has been attacked while in exile in Lithuania. “They literally wanted to make a schnitzel out of me,” said the 43-year-old early Wednesday morning in an online video about the attack from the previous evening.
Among other things, Volkov’s arm was broken in the attack in front of his home in Vilnius. In the video published on the online platform Telegram, Navalny’s long-time confidant spoke of a “typical” attack by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s henchmen.
During the attack, someone “hit him on the leg about 15 times.” “The leg is somehow okay. It hurts to walk. (…) But my arm is broken.” Volkov was temporarily hospitalized but later released.
Former Navalny spokeswoman and wife confirm attack on Volkov
Navalny’s former spokeswoman Kira Jarmisch had previously said that Volkov was initially attacked in his car. “Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas into his eyes,” she wrote on the short message service X. “Then the attacker started attacking Leonid with a hammer.”
Volkov’s wife spread photos of her injured husband. They showed, among other things, that the 43-year-old had a black eye and blood on his leg that was seeping through his jeans.
Lithuania’s foreign minister horrified by attack on Russian activists
Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis described the attack on X as “shocking.” “The responsible authorities are at work. The perpetrators must answer for their actions.”
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of the anti-corruption fund founded by Navalny, posted photos on his Telegram channel showing Volkov with a wound on his head and a bloody shin.
The background to the attack is still unclear. Lithuanian police confirmed to local media that a Russian citizen was attacked near his home in a suburb of Vilnius on Tuesday evening and that a large number of officers had been deployed there. But he couldn’t say anything about the person’s identity, a spokesman said. The investigations are ongoing – investigations are being carried out in several directions.
Volkov worries about his own safety after Navalny’s death
Just hours before the attack, Volkov told the Russian news site Medusa that he also feared for his safety after Navalny’s death. “The big risk now is that we will all be killed. Why is pretty obvious.”
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The attack on Volkov came almost a month after Navalny’s death – and a few days before the start of the presidential election in Russia, in which Putin’s re-election is expected. The opposition activist reiterated on Wednesday that he would not be intimidated by the attack: “We will work and we will not give up.”
The day before the attack, the 43-year-old wrote on online platforms: “Putin has
Volkov was one of Alexei Navalny’s closest confidants
Volkov was one of Navalny’s closest confidants and, among other things, former chief of staff. He also headed the anti-corruption foundation founded by the Kremlin critic until 2023.
In 2019, Volkov went into exile along with other Navalny allies after Russian authorities launched an investigation into the foundation. Since 2021, Volkov has been wanted by Russian authorities for his role in mass protests against the Kremlin.
According to Russian authorities, Navalny died on February 16 in a Russian prison camp in the Arctic, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence. According to Russian information, the 47-year-old died of “natural causes”, although the exact circumstances remain unclear. Navalny’s supporters and numerous Western politicians blame the Russian leadership and President Putin for the opposition figure’s death. (AFP/dpa/ank)
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