13 March 2024 , 08:56
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A former aide to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been beaten with a hammer and doused in pepper spray outside his home.
Leonid Volkov, 43, was brutally attacked as he sat in his car after pulling up outside his property in Lithuania on Tuesday. It comes amid claims Russia is continuing to go after Navalny's associates a month after the activist was found dead in a Siberian prison. On February 16, the body of Vladimir Putin’s political rival was discovered covered in bruises, fuelling fears the Russian leader had ordered his killing.
Volkov, who served as Navalny's chief of staff during his 2018 presidential run against Putin, has been pictured with heavy marks on his face and bloodied legs. The ally lives in a small village and none of his property was stolen, leading to speculation that the attack was ordered. Lithuanian police were informed of the incident and are investigating.
A member of the Navalny team, Ivan Zhdanov, posted pictures on social media of the man with a bloodied lower left leg. Asked whether the attacker had shouted anything, he said: "Everything happened in silence. Of course this is a clear political attack, there is no doubt here".
He was badly beaten during the hammer attack outside his home in Lithuania (Nadya Tolokonnikova /Twitter)
The 43-year-old's legs were also targeted during the ambush on Tuesday night (Nadya Tolokonnikova /Twitter)Journalist Sergey Parkhomenko on Telegram: "his wasn't a random street hooligan or a robber. This is a person who went there specifically to attack Volkov." His wife said he had returned home from hospital with a broken arm, before adding that he was unable to walk because of the hammer blows to his leg.
Funeral for pro-Putin blogger killed by bomb - with sledgehammer next to coffin
"We will all work even more. And with even greater anger," Anna Biryukova posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the attack. Late last month, Russian authorities arrested his former lawyer on charges of "violating public order." Volkov has lived outside Russia for some years for his own safety. He served as Navalny's chief-of-staff until the opposition leader died suddenly in prison in the Russian Arctic four weeks ago.
Navalny's funeral was finally held on March 1, after Russian authorities delayed handing the body back to his family for several days. Still, his cause of death has not yet been independently verified. However, the prison where he had been held on various trumped-up charges - including extremism and embezzlement - said he died of "sudden death syndrome" as he served a 19-year sentence after being convicted of charges that were politically motivated.
Since then, a survivor of the Salisbury Novichok attacks sent a chilling warning to the widow of the out spoken activist. Charlie Rowley – who was left partly paralysed by the deadly nerve agent that killed his partner Dawn Sturgess in 2018 – says he fears Yulia Navalnaya “could be the next victim of this evil poison” – and says she must “watch her back”.
He spoke of his fears out after the activist's death has sent him spiralling back into PTSD and his “worst nightmares”. He says: “I’ll never meet Yulia, but I feel linked to her. We know how Putin wrecks lives. He has destroyed ours. She was very brave to speak out. But I want to warn her to watch her back. Be very careful or she could be next.”