WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn鈥檛 order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
While U.S. officials believe Putin was ultimately responsible for the death of Navalny, who endured brutal conditions during his confinement, the intelligence community has found 鈥渘o smoking gun鈥 that Putin was aware of the timing of Navalny's death 鈥 which came soon before 鈥 or directly ordered it, according to the official.
The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
Soon after Navalny鈥檚 death, U.S. President Joe Biden said Putin was ultimately responsible but did not accuse the Russian president of directly ordering it.
At the time, Biden said the to Navalny but that 鈥渢here is no doubt鈥 that his death 鈥渨as the consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did.鈥
Navalny, 47, Russia鈥檚 best-known opposition politician and Putin鈥檚 most persistent foe, died Feb. 16 in a remote penal colony above the Arctic Circle while on extremism charges that he rejected as politically motivated.
He had been behind bars since January 2021 after returning to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering from nerve-agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.
Russian officials have said only that Navalny died of natural causes and have vehemently denied involvement both in the poisoning and in his death.
In March, a month after Navalny鈥檚 death, Putin won a landslide reelection for a fifth term, an outcome that was never in doubt.
The Wall Street Journal first reported about the U.S. intelligence determination.
