lEonid Volkovexiled Russian opponent and ally of the deceased dissident Alexei Navalnysuffered a violent attack on Tuesday in front of his home in the capital of Lithuania, where he had been exiled five years ago.
Volkov, 43, is one of the most prominent figures in the Russian opposition as Navalny's former chief of staff and president until 2023 of the anti-corruption foundation founded by the president's main opponent. Vladimir Putin.
Almost a month after Navalny's death in an Arctic prisonwhere he was serving a 19-year prison sentence, his lieutenant suffered an attack in Vilnius for which he had to go to the hospital.
The dissident claimed that a man hit him “about 15 times” with a blunt object and that he had suffered a broken arm.
“They wanted to transform me into a Milanese,” the opponent posted on Telegram, celebrating being still “alive.”
Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker began to hit Leonid with a hammer
During the night, Navalny's former spokesperson, Kira Yarmish, noted that Volkov had been attacked in the car “in front of his house.”
“Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker began to hit Leonid with a hammer,” he wrote on the social network X.
A Lithuanian police spokesman, Ramunas Matonis, confirmed to AFP that a Russian citizen was attacked outside his home in Vilnius at around 10:00 p.m. (8:00 p.m. GMT), but noted that they had not yet been able to identify any suspect.
'We will not give up'
In images published on the social network X, Volkov's wife, Anna Biriukovashowed the injuries suffered by the opponent: a black eye, a red mark on his forehead and blood on one of his legs.
Taken to the emergency room of a hospital, Volkov was finally able to return home. “We are at home. Leonid's arm is broken and he still can't walk,” his wife Biriukova posted.
Volkov assured on Wednesday that the assault was “typical” of the modus operandi of President Vladimir Putin's men, and warned that this aggression will not intimidate him.
“We are going to work and we will not give up,” he said on Telegram.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the news of the attack “is shocking” and assured that its “perpetrators will have to answer for their crime.”
A member of NATO and the European Union, Lithuania hosts many Russian exiles and has staunchly supported Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion.
Affraid to die
The attack occurs almost a month after Navalni's death and days before the presidential elections in which Putin is expected to win another six-year term.
This same week, Volkov had once again accused the Russian president of being responsible for Navalni's death. “Putin killed Navalny. And many other people before that,” he said on Monday.
Hours before his attack, the opponent had admitted to the independent Russian media Meduza that he was concerned about his safety since the death of Alexei Navalny.
“The main risk now is that they kill us all. That's quite obvious,” he said, according to this medium.
Like other Navalny allies, Volkov went into exile in 2019 after the Russian authorities opened a criminal investigation against the opponent's anti-corruption foundation.
Since 2021, Moscow has investigated Volkov for his role in organizing anti-Kremlin protests.
Following the death of Putin's main opponent, Volkov asked his supporters “not to be discouraged.” “That's what he expects of us now,” he said.
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