Navalny's widow speaks of Ukraine in European Parliament and gives "innovative" advice on defeating Putin

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who died in prison, spoke in the European Parliament on 28 February about the war in Ukraine, why the world’s support did not stop Vladimir Putin, and how to defeat the Russian president.

Source: Meduza (Latvia-based Russian outlet); Radio Liberty

Quote: "Last Saturday was two years since Putin started a full-scale war against Ukraine. Brutal and sneaky war. The whole world rushed to Ukraine’s aid. But two years have passed. There is much exhaustion, much blood, much disappointment, and Putin has gone nowhere. Everything has already been used: weapons, money, sanctions. And nothing is working. And the worst has happened — everyone got used to the war."

Navalnaya claims that leaders now begin to say "Well, we will have to come to an agreement with Putin"

Details: Navalnaya said Putin must answer for what he did to Alexei Navalny and to "a neighbouring peaceful country," referring to Ukraine.

According to her, the "public murder" of her husband showed that "Putin is capable of anything and that you cannot negotiate with him."  Yulia Navalnaya called for innovative solutions to defeat Putin's regime, both domestically and in its actions toward its neighbours.

Quote: "If you really want to defeat Putin, you have to become an innovator. And you have to stop being boring. You can't hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions that is no different from the previous ones. You can't defeat him by thinking he's a man of principle who has morals and rules. And Alexei realised that a long time ago. You are not dealing with a politician, but with a bloody monster. Putin is a leader of an organised criminal gang. This includes poisoners and assassins but they're just puppets. The most important thing is the people close to Putin — his friends, associates and keepers of mafia money."

Navalnaya emphasised that the struggle should be conducted exactly as if it were against a criminal organisation. According to her, the "innovation" is that in order to combat Putin, methods used to combat organised crime must be used rather than political competition.

"No diplomatic notes, but investigations into the financial machinations. Not statements of concern, but a search for mafia associates in your countries, for the discreet lawyers and financiers who are helping Putin and his friends to hide money," Navalnaya emphasised.

She assured that her allies in this struggle are Russians opposed to the war and Putin himself.

Background:

• On the afternoon of 16 February, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at Correctional Facility No. 3 in Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, in northwestern Siberia.
• Alexei Navalny had been imprisoned since early 2021. The Moscow City Court sentenced him to 19 years in prison in a special-regime colony for "extremism" in August 2023.
• Representatives of the colony where Navalny was located told the politician's mother that he died of sudden death syndrome.
• On 25 February, Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, stated that Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had died of natural causes, namely a blood clot.
• On 26 February, Maria Pevchikh, the chair of the Anti-Corruption Foundation formerly headed by Alexei Navalny, said that an agreement had been made to swap the opposition politician in a prisoner exchange, but he died in prison while the negotiations were in the final stages.

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