Volkov was attacked on Tuesday with tear gas and a hammer, suffering, among other things, a broken arm, a bruise to his forehead, and a leg wound, former Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said.
Volkov said in a Telegram post he was back home from hospital on Wednesday after receiving treatment, adding he had been hit about 15 times on his leg with a hammer.
The investigation was launched into a “minor health impairment,” a Lithuania police spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday while adding that no suspects had yet been identified.
Several police units including the elite anti-terrorism unit had been investigating the crime scene near Volkov’s house on the
Lithuanian capital’s northern outskirts overnight.
Volkov has repeatedly angered Russian authorities by organizing anti-Kremlin protests from his base in Vilnius and demanding the release of Navalny from prison when he was still alive.
The U.N. human rights expert on Russia said on Monday that Navalny’s February 16 death was Moscow’s responsibility as he was either killed in prison or died from detention conditions that amounted to torture.
Russian authorities say Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, died in an Arctic prison of natural causes. Navalny’s wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused Putin of having him killed, an accusation the Kremlin rejects.
The U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, Kara McDonald, said on X (formerly Twitter) that she was “shocked” by the news of the attack on Volkov.
“His resilience and courage in the face of recent attempts to silence and intimidate him are inspiring. The Navalny team remains an outspoken voice against Kremlin repression and brutality,” she stated.
On Tuesday, Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis called the incident shocking and said the perpetrators must “answer for their crime.”
Several members of Navalny’s political group, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, are living in EU and NATO member Lithuania after fleeing Russia.
