Leonid Volkov, former chief of staff and long-time aide of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was assaulted with a hammer in the Lithuanian capitol Vilnius on Tuesday, according to CNN.
Volkov has just been attacked outside his house. Someone broke a car window and sprayed tear gas in his eyes, after which the attacker started hitting Leonid with a hammer, Navalny’s spokesperson Kira Yarmysh wrote on X.
Kira Yarmysh posted images showing Volkov with a bruise on his forehead, blood coming from a leg wound, and a vehicle with damage to the driver’s door and window.
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that Volkov was attacked near the house and they hit his legs with a hammer and hit his arms.
Lithuania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who also leads Homeland Union, the ruling party, called the assault shocking and assured that the authorities are investigating the attacks.
Perpetrators will have to answer for their crime, he wrote on X.
The Lithuanian police reported that they received information regarding a man being assaulted outside his residence and have initiated an investigation.
Near Volkov’s home on the outskirts of Vilnius, authorities have cordoned off a pine forest, and officers equipped with dogs and flashlights were observed conducting searches late on Tuesday night.
A significant portion of Alexei Navalny’s political associates, including Volkov, who belong to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, have relocated to Lithuania, a member of both the European Union and NATO, after escaping from Russia.
