Trump Says Russian President 'Probably' Responsible For The Death Of Alexei Navalny: 'Something Happened That Was Unusual'

U.S. Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has suggested a potential connection between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

What Happened: Trump insinuated that Putin could be linked to Navalny’s death, which took place in an Arctic prison last month.

He responded when questioned on who was responsible for the death of the Russian opposition figure — “I don't know, but perhaps, I mean possibly, I could say probably, I don't know,” in an interview with Fox News, according to a Politico report.

“He's a young man, so statistically he'd be alive for a long time … so something happened that was unusual,” Trump commented.

Navalny passed away on Feb. 16 in a penal colony. Both the EU and the U.S. have directly accused Russia of being responsible for his death, and are contemplating imposing new sanctions on the Kremlin.

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Despite the escalating tension, Trump, who currently leads Democratic incumbent Joe Biden in general election polls across multiple key swing states, has kept a lenient stance on Putin. This approach is raising alarm among Western allies, particularly in light of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has consistently promised to stop aid to Ukraine and urge Kyiv to negotiate with Russia. During the interview, he expressed hope that he wouldn’t have to choose between Putin “swallowing” Ukraine and sending weapons to Kyiv.

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Why It Matters: Trump’s comments come in the wake of a series of events following Navalny’s death. The opposition leader’s death sparked protests across 32 Russian cities, leading to over 400 detentions. Trump had previously compared Navalny’s death to his own legal troubles in the U.S., implying both were outcomes of corrupt political systems.

Russian authorities, however, have maintained that Navalny died of natural causes. Sergei Naryshkin, the director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), stated in an interview that “sooner or later life ends and people die.” Putin himself referred to Navalny’s death as an ‘unfortunate incident’ and suggested he was willing to release Navalny in a prisoner exchange.

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