US intelligence agencies believe Putin did not order Navalny's killing – WSJ

The US intelligence services believe that Russian leader Vladimir Putin likely did not order the murder of opposition politician Alexei Navalny.

Source: Wall Street Journal, citing sources, as reported by European Pravda

The publication states that US intelligence services have concluded that Putin likely did not order Navalny's assassination in Russian prison in February.

The story quotes sources claiming this position was "broadly accepted within the intelligence community and shared by several agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit."

The US assessment was based on various information, including some classified intelligence and analysis of public facts, such as Navalny's time of death and how his death overshadowed Putin's "elections" in March.

However, the publication claims that Washington did not absolve the Russian leader of overall responsibility for Navalny's death, considering that the opposition politician had been a target of the Russian government for many years; he was imprisoned on politically motivated charges and poisoned in 2020.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Saturday that he had seen the WSJ report, which he said contained "empty speculation."

"I've seen the material, I wouldn't say it's high-quality material that deserves attention," Peskov told reporters.

Leonid Volkov, senior aide to Navalny, who was recently attacked in Vilnius, called the US conclusions naive and laughable.

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 the town of Kharp in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, northwestern Siberia.

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