Former Russia ambassador says "Putin killed Navalny" after opposition leader reportedly dies in jail

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who received international attention after being poisoned in 2020, was reported dead Friday by Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, according to CNN. Navalny, one of the most outspoken critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was 47. The anti-Kremlin activist "felt unwell after a walk" and "almost immediately" fell unconscious, the prison service said Friday, adding that it was investigating Navalny's "sudden death."

Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, told reporters Putin had been made aware of the report and that doctors must determine Navalny's cause of death.

A spokesperson for Navalny, Kira Yarmysh, said on X that his lawyer is traveling to Kharp where Navalny was held and vowed to report any information they obtain.

“I want them to know that they will be punished for what they have done with our country, with my family, and with my husband,” she said, adding that she did not have confirmation of Navalny's death.

News of his death comes less than a month before a presidential election expected to grant Putin another six years of power and has sparked a swath of criticism against the Kremlin leader who has quashed opposition in the nation.

Navalny's activism involved exposing corruption, orchestrating massive anti-Kremlin protests and campaigning against the ruling United Russia party, according to CNN. Upon returning to Russia in 2021 following his poisoning with Novichok, a Soviet-era nerve agent, he was arrested on charges he regarded as politically motivated. He was sentenced to a 19-year prison term in August after being found guilty of building an extremist community among other crimes. He had already been serving an 11-and-a-half-year sentence in a maximum security facility on other charges he denied.

"Putin killed Navalny. Let's be crystal clear about that," Michael McFaul, a former United States Ambassador to Russia and friend of Navalny, told MSNBC Friday, adding: "Putin killed Navalny because Navalny was the one opposition leader in Russia that Putin feared the most. This is a really tragic day for me, and it should be a tragic day for anybody who cares about democracy."