Russia
Navalnaya: Putin is unpredictable
Yulia Navalnayas warns of the Kremlin leader’s unpredictability. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
The widow of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny warns with dark words about the dangers that, in her view, come from Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.
Kremlin opponent Yulia Navalnaya holds Russia’s president Vladimir Putin is unpredictable – and does not rule out the possibility that the Kremlin leader could use nuclear weapons at some point. “We don’t know what to expect from him,” said the widow of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny in an interview with the German Press Agency. She added: “He probably would.”
It was like at the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine: She didn’t expect Putin’s attack back then because there were such strong connections between the two countries. “But he decided to do it. He scares people and keeps them afraid. Nobody knows what Putin will do tomorrow.” She is not sure whether the Kremlin leader really has a “strong strategy.”
“He’s been doing it all the time”
Navalnaya sees the arrest of several suspected Russian spies as another sign that Putin has long been waging his fight in the heart of Europe using all means possible. “Putin didn’t start this now – he’s been doing it all the time. He starts wars, he kills his opponents,” she said, adding: “I’ve always assumed that there are a lot of Russian spies in Europe, that is apparently.” Rather, she regretted that Europe had not identified the dangers posed by Russia earlier. “I would prefer if Europe had addressed this much more often and earlier. Then we could probably have prevented some wars and some murders.”
Last Wednesday, two German-Russian citizens were arrested in Bavaria who are said to have scouted out targets for possible acts of sabotage in Germany for Moscow. Both are in custody. In Poland, the local secret service arrested a man who allegedly wanted to help Russian military intelligence plan an assassination attempt on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.