The death of Russian dissident Alexey Navalny, which occurred last February in a penal colony in the Arctic, was probably not directly ordered by President Vladimir Putin, despite the harsh criticism leveled by the opponent at the head of the Kremlin. This is the conclusion reached by American intelligence, according to what the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the suspicious circumstances of the death of the Russian opposition leader, the WSJ, citing “people familiar with the matter”, reported that several US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the State Department’s intelligence unit share the view that the timing of Navalny’s death was not specifically intended by Putin.
«The assessment does not dispute Putin’s responsibility» for what happened, «but rather considers that it was probably not him who ordered it at that moment», writes the American newspaper, underlining that the consideration «is widely accepted within the political community intelligence is shared by different agencies. The American newspaper admits that it was not possible to determine whether intelligence agencies had developed alternative explanations for the politician’s death.
The US newspaper also points out that Polish analysts and some European intelligence agencies remain skeptical that the president was uninvolved in the matter, while Navalny’s allies continue to insist that the Kremlin orchestrated everything. Leonid Volkov, the dissident’s former right-hand man, said the idea that Putin was not informed and did not approve Navalny’s killing was “ridiculous”. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by the opponent, said that Navalny was killed in prison after Putin became aware of a potential prisoner exchange with the US and Germany and intervened to prevent it.
