US Intelligence: Putin not directly linked to Navalny's death, timing possibly unintentional

Recent findings from US intelligence agencies, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn’t issue orders for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a prison camp back in February.

Though the assessment acknowledges Putin’s responsibility for Navalny’s death, it speculates that the timing might not have been deliberate on Putin’s part, as per sources familiar with the matter cited in the report.

This conclusion is widely supported within the intelligence community, endorsed by agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit.

The Kremlin has consistently denied any state involvement, with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissing the Journal’s report as “empty speculation,” stressing the lack of substance in the material.

Navalny’s mysterious death at an Arctic prison in February not only reignited tensions between Russia and the West, already strained due to the conflict in Ukraine, but also sparked significant unauthorised protests, making it the largest since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

US President Joe Biden and other global leaders have held Putin responsible, citing years of Kremlin targeting against Navalny.

This latest assessment draws upon various sources, including classified intelligence and analysis of public events such as the timing of Navalny’s death, which coincided with Putin’s re-election. Some European intelligence agencies have also been briefed on this updated perspective.

Navalny fell ill during a walk at the remote maximum-security prison camp in the Arctic, where attempts by medical staff to revive him proved futile, according to prison authorities on February 16th.

with inputs from Agencies