- Putin critic Alexey Navalny's death may not have been planned to happen when it did, WSJ reported.
- The Journal reported that this opinion is shared by several US intelligence agencies.
Alexey Navalny's February death in a remote Arctic prison camp likely wasn't directly ordered by Vladimir Putin, despite Navalny's outspoken criticism of the Russian president, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Despite the suspicious circumstances of the opposition leader's death, the outlet reported Putin may not have intended Navalny to be killed when he was.
The Journal, citing "people familiar with the matter," reported that several US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department's intelligence unit, share this opinion.
Representatives for the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. However, a State Department spokesperson told BI that the United States' official stance is that the Russian government "bears ultimate responsibility for Navalny's death."
"Over the years, the Russian government has poisoned him, unjustly arrested him, denied him medical care, and held him in harsh conditions simply for exercising his rights under the Russian constitution," the State Department spokesperson said.
While the Journal reported US intelligence sources believe the timing of Navalny's death — which occurred as his staffers claimed he was on the brink of being freed — wasn't specifically intended by Putin, the outlet noted the Russian president is not entirely absolved of responsibility for Navalny's death on the world stage, with analysts in Poland and some European intelligence agencies remaining skeptical of suggestions that Putin wasn't involved, while Navalny's allies remain insistent that the Kremlin orchestrated it.
Leonid Volkov, a Navalny ally, told the Journal, "The idea of Putin being not informed and not approving killing Navalny is ridiculous."