A former associate of Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, was attacked and beaten by unknown perpetrators in Vilnius. According to the Lithuanian secret services, the attack might have been organized by Russia to stop the Russian opposition from implementing projects related to the upcoming presidential elections in that country.
Leonid Volkov – Navalny’s right-hand man
.Kira Yarmysh, spokeswoman for the recently deceased Alexei Navalny, reported on X.com that Leonid Volkov was beaten. “Leonid Volkov has just been attacked in front of his house. His car window was smashed, tear gas was sprayed into his eyes, and then the attacker started beating Leonid with a hammer. Now Leonid is at home, the police and an ambulance are on their way to him,” she reported.
In her next entries she added:
“It is obvious that following the murder of Navalny, they will now completely focus on those who left the Russian Federation. Here, even a separate order from the Kremlin is not needed: various groups of thugs around Putin will try to gain his favor and show who is cooler. “Everyone should finally realize that we are at war with the greatest evil of the last years of our century.”
The Lithuanian secret services commented on the attack. “It is likely that the operation was organized and carried out by Russia in order to stop the implementation of Russian opposition projects related to the upcoming undemocratic presidential elections in Russia,” the Lithuanian Department of State Security (VSD) wrote in a statement. These elections are scheduled for March 15-17.
Russian services are pursuing the opposition abroad
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, in turn, expressed the opinion that the attack on Volkov “was a planned action and is related to other provocations once morest Lithuania.”
“Recently, there has been an increase in the number of cases of desecration of the Lithuanian flag and monuments in the country. (…) These are planned actions,” emphasized Nauseda, who is in Paris. He assured that in Lithuania “no one is afraid” of Vladimir Putin.
Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite assured that “the situation is being treated seriously but calmly.” “The services are doing their job, an investigation has been initiated and various versions are being examined,” she said on Wednesday during a joint press conference with the Commander-in-Chief of the Lithuanian Police, Renatas Pożela. As she noted, “all kinds of provocations have become our everyday life (…) and their number may increase as the elections in Russia approach.”
The police have committed “enormous resources” to investigating the attack on Wołków, and extensive investigative activities are being carried out, Pożela assured.
However, Alexei Navalny’s spokeswoman does not believe in the effectiveness of the actions taken to protect Russian oppositionists. “Such threats will not stop FBK. No matter what security measures are taken, the number of measures once morest us is incomparably greater. But there are more of us. There are more honest people. “Someone will always come to take our place,” she wrote on X.com.
On February 16, Russian authorities announced the sudden death of Navalny, Putin’s most famous political opponent. Navalny allegedly died in unexplained circumstances in a labor camp above the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence, and was facing up to 30 years in prison. Thousands of people came to his funeral, which took place in Moscow on March 1.
Leonid Volkov on the real Russia
.A Russian oppositionist attacked in Vilnius argued in “Everything that’s most important” that “another Russia is possible. Russia is not only the Kremlin and not only Putin. “Although we have already achieved a lot, we do not want monuments. We continue to fight for our country. All the awards and recognition that come our way do more than just commemorate our past achievements. We want to use them to fight for the future of Russia,” Volkov wrote. He also argued that “the most important thing for us is for all Russians to understand that they have to fight Putin.” “We are doing everything in our power to make Alexei Navalny’s voice heard throughout Europe. European support is very important to us. To achieve this, we try to use every possible tool to spread our message as widely as possible in European countries, as well as to promote our appeals within the country. Today, at home and abroad, we must talk as much as possible regarding the future of Russia,” the oppositionist emphasized.
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ed material. Further distribution only with the publisher’s consent. March 13, 2024