Leonid Volkov, who worked as the chief of staff of late Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny, was physically assaulted near his home in Lithuania, Navalny's spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on March 12.
Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's main political opponent, died on Feb. 16 in a penal colony in the town of Kharp, Yamal Nenets Autonomous District.
Volkov was Navalny's chief of staff during his presidential campaign in 2018 and chaired the Anti-Corruption Foundation, founded by Navalny, until 2023. Volkov has lived in Lithuania as of 2020.
"Leonid Volkov 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," Yarmysh wrote on the social media platform X.
"Leonid is now at home, police and ambulance are on their way to him."
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, also said on Telegram that Volkov was attacked with a hammer. According to Zhdanov, the perpetrator attacked Volkov's arms and legs.
While the identity or motivation of the attacker remains unclear, the Kremlin has repeatedly targeted its political opponents abroad. Navalny himself suffered a poisoning in 2020 that has been linked to Russian intelligence services.
Oleg Sukhov
