Putin probably did not order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, US official says
![Putin probably did not order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, US official says Putin probably did not order death of Russian opposition leader Navalny, US official says](https://i3.wp.com/s.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_news_default_2000x2000_update_16x9_992.jpg?w=992&resize=992,558&ssl=1)
WASHINGTON– U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the matter.
While U.S. officials believe Putin is ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his imprisonment, the intelligence community has concluded that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny’s death – little before the death of the Russian president. re-election – or directly ordered it, depending on the official.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject.
Shortly after Navalny’s death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible, but stopped short of accusing the Russian president of directly ordering his death.
At the time, Biden said the United States did not know exactly what happened to Navalny, but that “there was no doubt” that his death “was the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.” do “.
Navalny, 47, Russia’s best-known opponent and Putin’s most persistent foe, died on February 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while serving a 19-year prison sentence. prison on extremism charges that he has dismissed as politically motivated.
He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from a nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Russian officials have only said Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied any involvement in both the poisoning and his death.
In March, a month after Navalny’s death, Putin won a landslide re-election to a fifth term, a result that was never in doubt.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the decision by American intelligence services.
ABC News