He was sprayed with tear gas before being hit with a hammer.
Leonid Volkov, a Russian opponent in exile and close to Alexeï Navalny, was the victim of an attack on Tuesday outside his home in Lithuania, said a Russian opposition media and Navalny's former spokesperson .
“Leonid Volkov was just attacked outside his house.
Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes before starting to hit Leonid with a hammer,” said Kira Yarmysh, Navalny’s ex-spokesperson, who died in detention in Russia on February 16.
Leonid Volkov @leonidvolkov has 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.
Leonid is now at home, police and ambulance are on their way to him
— Кира Ярмыш (@Kira_Yarmysh) March 12, 2024
Those close to Navalny released photos showing Leonid Volkov's injuries, including a black eye, a red mark on his forehead and blood on one of his legs.
Former chief of staff of Alexeï Navalny
According to Kira Yarmysh, Leonid Volkov was at his home shortly after 9 p.m. (French time) and help was on the way.
The spokesperson did not give any details on the country where he resides but the independent Russian media Mediazona assures that he is in Lithuania.
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Leonid Volkov is a former chief of staff of Navalny and chaired until 2023 the anti-corruption foundation founded by the former number one opponent of Vladimir Putin.
He accused the Russian president of being directly responsible for Navalny's death.