American Intelligence agencies concluded that Vladimir Putin may not have ordered the murder of Alexei Navalnywho died in February in a prison in the Arctic Circle, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal in its article, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the case, says that US intelligence agencies have concluded that Putin probably did not order Navalny’s murder.
The newspaper emphasizes that Washington has not absolved the Russian president of all responsibility for his death, as the dissident had been targeted by Russian authorities for years, he had been jailed for what the West has described as politically motivated offenses and was poisoned in 2020 with a nerve agent.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the 2020 poisoning of Navalny.
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Sources cited by the Wall Street Journal said that the conclusion of Putin’s non-involvement in Navalny’s death “it is widely accepted by the Intelligence community and has been adopted by many agencies – including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence agency.”
The US estimate is based on various information, including confidential, and the analysis of the facts, such as the timing of Navalny’s death and how it overshadowed Putin’s re-election to Russia’s presidency in March.
However, according to the newspaper, Leonid Volkov, an associate of Navalny, called the American findings naive and ridiculous.
It is reminded that Navalny was Putin’s most vocal critic. His associates have accused Putin of asking for his assassination and have added that they will present evidence to support their claim.
The Kremlin has denied that Russian authorities had anything to do with the dissident’s death. In March, Putin called Navalny’s death “regrettable” and indicated that Moscow was ready to hand him over to the West in a prisoner exchange, provided the dissident did not return to Russia.
