Staff ReporterOn Tuesday, the Kremlin dismissed allegations made by Alexei Navalny’s widow, who claimed President Vladimir Putin was responsible for her husband’s death in prison last week.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, labeled the accusations as baseless and offensive towards the Russian President. However, he refrained from further comments due to the recent bereavement of Yulia Navalnaya, stating, “Of course, these are absolutely unfounded and vulgar accusations against the head of the Russian state. But taking into account that Yulia Navalnaya was widowed just days ago, I will not comment.”
Yulia Navalnaya, in a video message that attracted millions of viewers, pledged to persist in her late husband’s struggle for the nation’s liberty, emphasizing her commitment at the age of 47 to “fight for the freedom of our country.”
The Kremlin also dismissed the European Union’s demand, prompted by a Monday discussion in Brussels with Navalnaya, for an “international investigation” into Navalny’s demise, a session facilitated by EU foreign policy leader Josep Borrell. “We do not accept such demands in general — all the more so from Mr Borrell,” Peskov remarked.
In response to inquiries regarding the arrest of numerous Russians at memorials for Navalny, Peskov assured that “Law-enforcement agencies are acting in accordance with the law.”
Further, Peskov explained that President Putin’s act of awarding military honors to four senior officials from the federal penitentiary service, shortly after Navalny’s death, was a standard part of “normal promotion processes that run their own course.”
Before his incarceration in 2021, Navalny inspired widespread protests against Putin. His arrest occurred upon his return to Russia after he recovered in Germany from being poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent in Siberia.
