Trump: ‘Putin is ‘probably’ involved in Navalny’s death”
Former President Donald Trump sat down with Media Buzz for an exclusive interview about winning the Republican nomination, the sudden death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his language choices regarding illegal immigration, and more.
Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the killing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, who collapsed and died in an Arctic penal colony in February, according to a report, according to US intelligence. The agency concluded.
The United States has concluded that the Kremlin tried to kill Navalny, who was poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok in 2020, and that Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death earlier this year, but the CIA and the presidential Agencies such as the National Intelligence Service and the State Department assessed that Putin probably did not want him killed at that moment. wall street journal According to a person familiar with the matter.
Sources told the Journal that one of the many factors in the assessment was that Mr. Navalny collapsed and died after taking a walk inside the prison, which cast a shadow on Mr. Putin’s re-election. .
After Navalny’s death, the United States tightened sanctions against Russia. “Make no mistake about it, President Putin is responsible for Mr. Navalny’s death,” President Biden said earlier this year.
A window into Alexei Navalny’s soul before his death
Russian President Vladimir Putin likely did not order the killing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, 47, who collapsed and died in an Arctic penal colony in February, according to a report, according to US intelligence. The agency concluded. (Contributor/Getty Images/Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Former President Trump said in March that Putin “probably” blamed Navalny for Navalny’s death after being asked by “Media Buzz” host Howard Kurtz if he thought the 71-year-old leader was “somewhat responsible.” He told FOX News that he believes he is responsible for the incident.
“I don’t know, but I would say probably, probably, probably, I don’t know,” Trump said. “He’s a young man, so statistically he should live a long time…so something unusual happened.”
Navalny has been in prison since 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he was hospitalized to recover from an addiction.
Alexei Navalny’s death deals a huge blow to Russia’s political opposition
Alexei Navalny (centre) was allegedly poisoned by the Kremlin in 2020. After he recovered in Germany, he returned to Russia and was imprisoned in 2021. (Kiril Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images)
After his death, the federal prison in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region issued the following statement: “On February 16, 2024, in Penal Colony No. 3, Navalny AA prisoner felt unwell after a walk and died almost immediately, without consciousness.
“Medical staff from the facility quickly arrived and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were performed without positive results. Ambulance doctors pronounced the inmate dead. The cause of death is currently under investigation.” ”
The United States has not determined the cause of his death, but Russian media reports say it was a blood clot.
Navalny was Putin’s most prominent opposition leader in Russia. (Mikhail Metzel/Pool/AFP via Getty Images))
Mr. Navalny’s allies have criticized the U.S. for being too lenient, and some European countries have expressed skepticism that President Vladimir Putin was not directing the move.
Navalny’s ally Leonid Volkov said in a statement that anyone who claims Putin did not order Navalny’s death “clearly has no understanding of how modern Russia operates. “The idea that Mr. Putin was not informed and would not approve of Mr. Navalny’s murder is absurd.”
Swomir Dembski of the Polish Institute of International Affairs said it was unlikely that Navalny’s death was intentional.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Everyone knew that Mr. Navalny was a politically valuable prisoner and that President Putin was personally involved in his fate,” he was quoted as saying. journal. “It is unlikely that such an unexpected death would occur.”
Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation also said Putin ordered Navalny’s death penalty to prevent his release in a potential prisoner swap with the United States, which Putin said the two sides had agreed to in March. Stated.
