Two people have been detained in Poland on suspicion of attacking Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov in Vilnius, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced on Friday. A Belarusian national working for Russia has also been detained on suspicion of ordering the attack.
“Two 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,” Nausėda said.
“[The suspects] will be handed over to Lithuania shortly after the completion of the proceedings,” he added.
Lithuanian prosecutors later revealed that the detainees were Polish nationals who were arrested in Warsaw at the beginning of April.
“Two people have been detained on suspicion of causing injury to Volkov. They were detained on April 3 in Warsaw, Poland. They are two Polish citizens. [...] They are currently in Poland and have been recognised as suspects,” said Justas Laučius, Chief Prosecutor of the Vilnius Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
“All possible versions of the crime are being investigated. [...] At this stage of the investigation, there is evidence to support the assumption that the victim was injured because of [Volkov’s] political activities and his views,” he added.
According to Saulius Briginas, Deputy Head of the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, the detainees are believed to have been directly involved in the attack.
“Polish nationals are suspected of being direct perpetrators of this attack. Five searches were carried out and evidence was collected,” he said.
According to him, initial data shows that the persons arrived in Vilnius, carried out the attack, and left Lithuania.
The detained suspects were already known to Polish law enforcement.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also announced on Friday that a Belarusian national has been arrested on suspicion of ordering the attack on Volkov in Vilnius.
“A Belarusian working for the Russians, who ordered two Poles to organise an attack on an associate of Navalny, has been detained,” Tusk wrote on X.
“The attackers have already been detained,” he added, without giving further details.
Volkov, former chief of staff of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, on Friday applauded the arrest of two people suspected of attacking him in Vilnius.
“I don’t know any other details yet, but I can say that I’ve seen how vigorously and persistently the Lithuanian police have been working on this case for the past month, and I’m very glad that this work has yielded results,” Volkov wrote on X.
“We’ll learn more details soon. I cannot wait to find out!” he added.
Volkov was attacked with a hammer outside his house in Vilnius in March.
Lithuania’s State Security Department then said that the attack was likely organised and implemented by Russia.
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