Two of the service’s interlocutors say Putin discussed the politician’s replacement during a meeting with oligarch Roman Abramovich on the morning of February 16, hours before news of Navalny’s death first emerged. According to one source, Putin agreed to the exchange.
Journalist Christo Grozev also told Agentstvo that he heard that Putin agreed to the exchange.
“I think this was either a cover for the assassination plan, or a strategic move to bring the talks almost to a conclusion, in the hope that if Germany agrees to release Vadim Krasikov, then in the absence of Navalny they will also agree to exchange someone else, a prisoner not so important to Putin,” he added.
“When he learned that the West was ready to hand Krasikov over to Russia, Putin ordered Navalny to be killed in cold blood,” Grozev stressed.
The sources claim that in addition to Navalny, Russia was supposed to hand over imprisoned American citizens Paul Whelan and journalist Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal.
The West offered Russia an exchange of FSB officer Vadim Krasikov, serving a sentence for murder in Berlin, and another Russian convicted in the U.S.
Navalny’s death
On February 16, Russian authorities announced the sudden death of Navalny, Putin’s best-known political opponent.
Navalny was said to have died under mysterious circumstances in a gulag behind the Arctic Circle, where he was serving a 19-year prison sentence. The politician’s funeral was held in Moscow on March 1. Thousands of people came to bid farewell to the politician
