“I’m absolutely sure Putin knew about this,” Navalny said on Tuesday during an interview with CNN reporter Christian Amanpour.
“Working with this skill and for a long time cannot continue without judgment from the head (of the Russian Security Service), Mr. Bortnikov. And he will never dare to do so without direct order from President Putin.”
Anti-Corruption Crusader was responding to an investigation by Bellingcat and joined by CNN, which brought together how the FSB followed his team during an August trip to Siberia.
The investigation found that two teams of five or six agents were deployed on Navalny’s trip to Siberia in August 2020, including people specializing in toxins and nerve agents.
The Russian government did not respond to the report, although the Kremlin had previously denied any involvement in the poisoning of Navalny.
Navalny fell ill while traveling on August 20 during a four-hour flight from Tomsk to Moscow.
The captain of the plane turned to the city of Omsk and requested medical assistance, and it was later found that the leader of the Russian opposition had been poisoned by the nerve gas of Novichok.
The European Union has since imposed sanctions on several high-ranking officials including Portnikov, saying it is “responsible for providing support to people who carried out or participated in the poisoning” of Navalny.
A CNN / Bellingcat investigation also found that the FSB had followed Team Navalny on more than 30 flights to and from Moscow since 2017.
“We all understand how [the] Making sausage [now]Navalny said in response to the details that have been revealed.
THas a broken story, more to follow …
“Infuriatingly humble social media ninja. Devoted travel junkie. Student. Avid internet lover.”