Leonid Volkovformer chief of staff of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalnywas brutally attacked outside his residence in Vilnius, Lithuania.
What happened: The attackers broke the window of Volkov’s car, sprayed him with tear gas and then beat him with a hammer. The incident was first made public by Count YarmishNavalny’s spokesperson on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, reported Politico.
Yarmysh posted graphic images of Volkov’s leg injury and his vandalized car. Another image on Telegram reportedly showed Volkov being carried into an ambulance.
Screenshot from Kira Yarmysh’s X feed.
The Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielio Landsbergis, confirmed the attack, tweeting: “The news of Leonid’s attack is shocking. The competent authorities are at work. Those responsible will have to answer for their crime.”
This attack on Volkov follows Navalny’s death in a Russian prison on February 16. Navalny was buried on March 1. Presidential elections will be held in Russia from 15 to 17 March.
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Because matter: The assault on Volkov comes in the wake of a series of events following Navalny’s death. Navalny, a prominent critic of the Russian president Vladimir Putinhe died under mysterious circumstances in a Russian prison.
His death sparked widespread protests across Russia, leading to the detention of more than 400 people. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnayashe vowed to continue her husband’s fight against Putin, Benzinga reported on Feb. 20.
In the meantime, Sergei Naryshkin, the director of Foreign intelligence service (SVR), attributed Navalny’s death to natural causes.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock.com
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