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The right-hand man of late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, Leonid Volkov, has been attacked outside his home in Lithuania. Volkov was attacked with a hammer and tear gas while in his car in Vilnius on Tuesday night, Navalny's spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said, Reuters reports.
"Volkov has just been attacked outside his home. "Someone broke the car window and threw tear gas into his eyes, after which the assailant started hitting Leonid with a hammer," she wrote in X.
She posted images showing Volkov with a bruise on his forehead and a vehicle with a damaged door and window. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, called the attack "shocking".
"The perpetrators will have to answer for their crime," he wrote in X.
Lithuanian police are investigating the incident.
Volkov lived outside Russia for several years for his own safety and served as Navalny's chief of staff until the opposition leader died suddenly in an Arctic prison last month, serving a sentence on politically motivated charges.
Volkov also faces various politically motivated charges in Russia. He served as chairman of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation until last year, when he resigned following revelations that he had signed letters asking the European Union to lift some Russian sanctions.
Despite living outside of Russia, he has also ensured that the activism of Navalny and his team can continue.
The incident marks the first attack on Navalny's allies since they fled Russia more than three years ago. Volkov and other key members of Navalny's team have been living in Lithuania since Russian authorities classified Navalny's groups as "extremist" organizations in 2021. Most of Navalny's closest allies are on the list wanted by Moscow and would face long prison terms if they entered Russia.
Berlin police last year also opened an investigation into the alleged poisoning of two Russian freelance journalists who visited the city for a conference organized by Russian Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
The attack on him comes days before Russia's presidential election, seen as a constitutional exercise in which President Vladimir Putin is certain to win a fifth term.
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