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2 suspects detained in Poland after last month's attack on a Navalny ally in Lithuania

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) 鈥 Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late activist Alexei Navalny, the Lithuanian president announced on Friday.
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FILE - Leonid Volkov, chief of staff for the 2018 presidential election of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, looks on, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, Dec. 15, 2021. Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late activist Alexei Navalny, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda announced on Friday, April 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) 鈥 Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov, an ally of the late activist Alexei Navalny, the Lithuanian president announced on Friday.

outside his home in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, where he lives in exile. The attacker smashed one of his car鈥檚 windows, sprayed tear gas into his eyes and hit him with a hammer, police said at the time.

President Gitanas Naus臈da announced the arrests to reporters in Vilnius and thanked Poland for its work. He said the suspects would be handed over to Lithuania but did not specify when.

鈥淭wo people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of beating Russian opposition leader Leonid Volkov. I thank the Republic of Poland for the excellent work it has done. I have discussed this with the Polish president and thanked them for their excellent cooperation,鈥 Naus臈da said.

There was no immediately comment from Polish President Andrzej Duda or any other Polish officials.

Volkov said on X, formerly Twitter, that he didn鈥檛 know the details of the arrest, but 鈥渟aw how energetically and persistently the Lithuanian police have worked over the past month on this case鈥 and was 鈥渧ery glad that this work has paid off.鈥

鈥淎s for the details, we will find them out soon. Can鈥檛 wait to find out!鈥 Volkov wrote.

Volkov suffered a broken arm in the brutal attack and was hospitalized. He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 鈥渉enchmen鈥 of responsibility in the attack and vowed to keep up his opposition work.

The attack on Volkov took place nearly a month after Navalny鈥檚 unexplained death in a remote Arctic penal colony. He was and Putin鈥檚 fiercest critic. Navalny had and was serving a 19-year prison term there on the charges of extremism widely .

Opposition figures and Western leaders laid the blame on the Kremlin for his death 鈥 something officials in Moscow vehemently rejected.

His funeral in the Russian capital on March 1 drew thousands of supporters, a rare show of defiance in Putin鈥檚 Russia amid an unabating and ruthless crackdown on dissent. Navalny鈥檚 widow, Yulia,

Volkov used to be in charge of Navalny鈥檚 regional offices and election campaigns. He ran for mayor of Moscow in 2013 and sought to challenge Putin in the 2018 presidential election. Volkov left Russia several years ago under pressure from the authorities.

Liudas Dapkus, The Associated Press

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