Putin confirms Navalny was to be swapped before sudden death

Vladimir Putin appeared at the Central Election Commission headquarters on Sunday, following the announcement of the election results. During his speech, he mentioned Navalny's death, which he described as a "sad event." The deceased's wife, Julia Navalny, responded to these comments by calling Putin a coward.

Shortly after the preliminary presidential election results were announced on Sunday, Putin confirmed during his appearance at the Central Election Commission headquarters that he had agreed to an exchange involving Navalny for Russian prisoners in the West.

"Yes, he died. It's always a sad event. There have been other instances where people have passed away. Didn't this also occur in the US? The idea was to exchange Navalny for those in Western countries. I agreed; we wanted to exchange him so he wouldn't return, but unfortunately, these things happen; such is life," he said in an insolent tone.

Following Putin's statement, the reaction from Navalny's widow was swift. "What a coward," Julia Navalny wrote on the X platform.

On February 16, Russian authorities announced the unexpected death of Navalny, Putin's most prominent political adversary. The politician passed away in a camp located beyond the Arctic Circle, serving a 19-year sentence.

Recent reports reveal that Putin met with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich shortly before Navalny's death to discuss the planned prisoner exchange that involved Navalny.

Source: X.com/WP