Lithuania Blames Russia for Attack on Late Opposition Leader Navalny's Aide

The location of the attack on Leonid Volkov. (Twitter/@Fahadali682521)

JAKARTA - Lithuania blamed Moscow on Wednesday for the hammer attack carried out on the top aide of exiled late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny Leonid Volkov, outside his home in the capital Vilnius.

President Gitanas Nauseda said the attack on the Russian opposition leader's top aide was clearly premeditated, linked to a provocation against Lithuania, which is a member of NATO and the European Union.

"I can only say one thing to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, no one is afraid of you here," said President Nauseda, reported by Reuters, March 14.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's State Security Department's counter-intelligence agency said the attack was likely carried out to stop the Russian opposition from influencing the Russian Presidential election.

In response, the Russian Embassy in Vilnius refused to comment on the allegations.

The Kremlin is known to view Navalny's team as "the most dangerous opposition force capable of exerting real influence on Russia's internal processes," Lithuania's security agency said.

Volkov himself accused Putin directly. In a post on Telegram, he said he returned home Wednesday morning after a night in hospital, suffering from a broken arm and wounds from about 15 hammer blows to the leg.

"This is clearly a typical criminal 'hello' from Putin, from criminal Petersburg," Volkov wrote.

"We will continue to work and we will not give up," he added.

"It's difficult, but we will overcome it. It's good to know that I'm alive," he continued.

Earlier, Navalny's former spokesperson Kira Yarmysh uploaded images of Volkov with a bruise on his forehead, blood coming from a wound on his leg, and a vehicle with damage to the driver's door and window.

"Volkov had just been attacked outside his house. Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker started hitting Leonid with a hammer," he wrote in X.

A police car was seen patrolling Wednesday afternoon outside Volkov's home, in a pine forest on the outskirts of the Lithuanian capital.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said the perpetrators must "pay for their crimes".

Meanwhile, Lithuanian Police Commissioner Renatas Pozela said his party was deploying "enormous resources" to investigate the attack.

He said the attack did not mean Lithiania was no longer safe. The Baltic nation of 2.8 million people, which borders Russia and Belarus, has been a base for Russian and Belarusian opposition figures.

"This is a one-time incident that we will successfully resolve. Our society does not need to be afraid because of this," said Pozela.