Maria Pevchikh, the head of the foundation for Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has revealed that there were ongoing negotiations for a prisoner exchange that would have seen Navalny and two Americans traded for FSB officer Vadim Krasikov. Krasikov is serving a life sentence in Germany for the murder of a Chechen field commander in Berlin. Pevchikh stated that by the evening of February 15th, these discussions had advanced to their final stages, shortly before Navalny’s death was announced the following day. She contends that the Kremlin orchestrated the politician’s murder to thwart his potential release.

In a contrasting statement, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Intelligence Directorate, reported that Ukrainian intelligence has evidence suggesting Navalny’s death resulted from natural causes, specifically a blood clot. Budanov emphasized that this intelligence was acquired through means other than the internet, lending a differing perspective on the circumstances surrounding Navalny’s demise.