Leonid Volkov, former chief of staff of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was the victim of a violent attack this Tuesday (12) in front of his residence in Vilnius, Lithuania.
According to Kira Yarmysh, Navalny's spokeswoman, an attacker broke the window of Volkov's car and hit him with tear gas, before starting to hit him with a hammer.
“Leonid Volkov was just attacked outside his home. Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas into his eyes, after which the attacker started hitting Leonid with a hammer,” Yarmysh wrote on his official X account (formerly Twitter).
“Leonid is now at home, the police and ambulance are on the way to him,” the spokeswoman said.
The spokesperson also shared a post on X that showed Volkov's condition after the attack: https://twitter.com/a_biryukova/status/1767646920976027911
According to information from CNN, Volkov, who served as president of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation until 2023, criticized the Russian presidential elections earlier this month, calling the election a “circus.” As reported by the American broadcaster, Volkov expressed on his social networks that the Russian elections serve to show false mass support for Putin.
“We need to understand what the March 'elections' mean for Putin. They are a propaganda effort to spread hopelessness among the electorate,” Volkov was quoted as saying.
The attack against the opponent's ally who died in February occurs precisely in the week in which elections will be held in Vladimir Putin's country. The election should not have opponents and, according to information, it is full of fake candidates.
Analysts point out that Putin should be re-elected and could expand his powers in the country, which is currently carrying out an invasion of Ukrainian territory.
Navalny's death last month in an Arctic prison drew condemnation from world leaders. US President Joe Biden even directly accused Putin of his opponent's death. The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny's death.
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