Russian attack on Navalny aide is first act of ‘political terrorism’ in Lithuania, official says

The attack on Leonid Volkov in Vilnius was the first case of “political terrorism” in Lithuania, the head of the country’s National Crisis Management Center said Thursday.

Volkov — a former policy chief and key ally of Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in an Arctic prison last month — was set upon by an assailant wielding a hammer outside his home Tuesday evening.

“This is the first time that such an incident has happened in our country, such a case of political aggression, political terrorism on our soil,” crisis center chief Vilmantas Vitkauskas told a Lithuanian radio station.

While it was too early to tell who the attacker was, all evidence pointed to a professional operation, according to Vitkauskas.

“One thing is clear — the longer the investigation goes on, the clearer it becomes that the operation itself was professional, well-planned and whoever carried it out was either well-prepared or received very good instructions,” Vitkauskas said.

On Wednesday, Lithuania’s intelligence agency announced that the attack on Volkov was likely “Russian organized.”

According to Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė, the national threat level has not been raised despite the attack.

“The services are doing their job, several versions are being investigated,” she said in a meeting with the commissioner of the police. “Various provocations have become our everyday life. Before Putin’s upcoming pseudo-election, they may increase even more, so we have to be more vigilant.”