Floral tributes, portraits of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and messages are seen left outside the former Russian Embassy in Tbilisi on March 1, 2024.
U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn't directly order the killing of Alexei Navalny at a remote penal colony in February, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
As Russia's most high-profile and popular dissident, Navalny's death dealt a severe blow to the country's opposition movement, which has been brutally suppressed by the Kremlin.
Before Navalny's death, there had been tentative discussions about a possible prisoner exchange with Russia involving Navalny and Americans detained in Russia, NBC News previously reported.
Navalny's allies allege that Putin had the dissident killed to thwart the proposed prisoner swap that would have freed him.
Persons:
Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Navalny, Joe Biden, Sergei Skripal, Navalny's
Organizations:
Russian Embassy, Kremlin, Washington, Russia's Federal, Service, CIA, National Intelligence, NBC
Locations:
Tbilisi, Russia's, Russia, Russian, United Kingdom, Western