On Tuesday, the 12th of March, the long-time ally of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Leonid Volkov, was attacked with a hammer in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, citing reports by Navalny’s former spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh, reports Reuters.
“Volkov has just been attacked outside his house. Someone smashed a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker started hitting Leonid with a hammer,” she wrote on X.
On X, images were posted showing Volkov with a bruise on his forehead, a bloody leg and a car with driver’s door and window damaged.
❗??⚔️?? – Leonid Volkov, a prominent Russian opposition figure and ally of the late Alexei Navalny, was hospitalized in Lithuania after being attacked with tear gas and hammers outside his residence.
Volkov, 43, served as Navalny’s chief of staff and was president of an… pic.twitter.com/jfA3g57M6C
— ??The Informant (@theinformant_x) March 13, 2024
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called the attack “shocking”.
“The perpetrator will have to answer for their crime,” he wrote on X.
Lithuanian police said they had received information that a man had been attacked outside his home and were investigating.
Police had fenced off a forest near Volkov’s house on the northern outskirts of Vilnius, and late on Tuesday night officers searched the woods with dogs and flashlights.
Volkov’s wife said he returned home from hospital with a broken arm, adding that he was unable to walk because of the hammer blows to his leg.
“We will work even harder. And with even more anger,” she wrote on X.
A large part of Navalny’s political group, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which includes Volkov, has been staying in Lithuania since fleeing Russia.
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