Tears, shock and anger. Here’s how leaders, supporters and institutions are reacting to the death of 47-year-old Alexei Navavalny. The main opponent of the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin died this Friday after a walk in the maximum security prison where he was held in the Arctic. The news has attracted attention from all corners of the world, and several questions have already arisen regarding the circumstances of the activist’s death.
Navalny was one of the most vocal opponents of Vladimir Putin’s presidency and devoted much of his life to exposing the Russian leader. The first reactions blame Russia for the activist’s death.
Navalny’s wife: “Putin and his friends will not go unpunished”
During the Munich Security Conference, activist wife Yulia Navalnaya assured that “Putin and his friends will not go unpunished.”
“I don’t know if we should believe the terrible lies we hear. Vladimir Putin and his government lie constantly. But if this is true, I would like to tell Putin and his friends that they will not go unpunished. Putin must be detained. bears responsibility for all the atrocities committed in the country in recent years,” said Yulia Navalnaya.
Navalny’s wife could not contain her emotions during her speech, which was applauded by those present at the conference.
Portuguese MNE accuses Russian President
Foreign Minister João Gomes Craviño blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the death of his Russian opponent.
“I pay tribute to Alexei Navalny, who resisted the Putin regime and fought for democracy in Russia. Putin used his arbitrary powers to imprison him under increasingly draconian conditions and is responsible for his death. My condolences to his family and the Russian people,” the message says. The minister shared the post on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
Zelensky blamed Putin for the death of the activist
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky considered it “obvious” that Vladimir Putin killed Alexei Navalny.
According to Reuters, the Ukrainian leader said that the Russian president does not care who dies, as long as his position at the head of state is secure.
UN calls for ‘transparent’ investigation
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “shocked” by the news and called for a “full, credible and transparent” investigation into the circumstances of Alexei Navalny’s death.
NATO asks Russia to respond
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was “deeply saddened and concerned” by the news of the death of Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, but all the facts needed to be established.
“We need to find out all the facts, and Russia needs to answer all serious questions about the circumstances of the death of Alexei Navalny,” Jens Stoltenberg said, as quoted by Reuters.
US blames Russia
The head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, holds Russia “responsible for the situation that led to the death of opponent Alexei Navalny,” which “emphasizes the weakness and corruption” of the Putin regime.
“This death in a Russian prison, as well as the fixation and fear of one person, only underscores the weakness and corruption of the regime that Putin has built. Russia bears responsibility for this situation,” Blinken said.
Joe Biden Blames ‘Putin and His Henchmen’
US President Joe Biden said he has no doubt that Alexei Navalny’s death was “provoked by Putin and his cronies” and that while he is “outraged, he is not surprised by the news.”
“He courageously stood up to corruption, violence and everything that the government of Vladimir Putin did. Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” he said.
The President of the European Parliament said that “the world has lost a fighter”
“The world has lost a fighter whose courage will reverberate for generations.” I am horrified by the death of Sakharov Prize laureate Alexei Navalny. Russia took away his freedom and life, but not his dignity,” said a message published on X (formerly Twitter).
European Union says Navalny was ‘slowly killed’ by Putin’s regime
“Alexey Navalny was slowly killed by President Putin and his regime, who are afraid of nothing but dissent from their people. We will make every effort to bring Russian political leaders and authorities to justice,” said Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs
Latvia’s President said the news proves “the true nature of the current Russian regime”
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics also blamed the Kremlin.
“No matter what you think of Alexei Navalny as a politician, he was brutally murdered by the Kremlin. This is a fact and this is what you should know about the true nature of the current regime in Russia,” he wrote in a post on the website. X.
The Chairman of the Duma blamed NATO, the USA and Ukraine for the death of Putin’s opponent
Speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament [Duma]Vyacheslav Volodin accused the leaders of NATO, the USA, Ukraine, Great Britain and Germany of the death of his opponent Alexei Navalny.
“Their names are well known: from the NATO Secretary General [Jens Stoltenberg] and from American leaders to [alemão Olaf] Scholz, in [britânico] Rishi Sunak and [ucraniano] Vladimir Zelensky, everyone is to blame for Navalny’s death,” Volodin wrote on Telegram.
“It is they, with their many unsuccessful decisions (…) who benefit from his death,” wrote the Chairman of the Duma, without explaining this accusation, but repeating the message that the West wants to “destroy Russia.”
Author: Sarah Reis Teixeira
Source: CM Jornal
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.