The Lithuanian president announced Friday that two people suspected of having attacked Leonid Volkov, a close ally of the late Russian opponent Alexei Navalny, last March in Vilnius, were arrested in Poland. Attacked on March 12 with a hammer in front of his home in Vilnius, Leonid Volkov, aged 43 and former right-hand man of the Russian opponent who died in prison Alexeï Navalny, had to be briefly hospitalized. Lithuanian intelligence services, which quickly spoke of an attack probably
"organized by Russia"
, then suspected that it had been carried out by someone recruited locally.
“Two people suspected of attacking Russian opposition leader Leonid Volkov are detained in Poland
,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told the press on Friday. The head of state added that the detainees, whose identities have not been revealed, would be deported to Lithuania, but without further details. Gitanas Nauseda said he had discussed the matter with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and thanked Warsaw for its
“excellent work”
.
Leonid Volkov immediately declared himself
“happy”
with this announcement.
“I don't know any further details yet, but I can say that I saw with what energy and perseverance the Lithuanian police worked on this case over the past month, and I am very happy that this work has brought its fruits
,” wrote the Russian opponent on the Telegram network.
“We will know the details soon. I can’t wait to meet them!”
, he added. No comment from the Polish side was immediately available.