Zelensky says it's 'obvious' Navalny was killed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the Federal Chancellery. Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he assumes that Alexei Navalny was killed and that Russian President Vladimir Putin bore responsibility.

"It is obvious to me: He was killed. Like other thousands who were tortured to death because of this one person," Zelensky said, according to an official translation, in Berlin during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

"Putin doesn't care who dies. The main thing is that he sticks to his position," said Zelensky. "And that's why he should lose everything. He should lose, he should lose everything, and then he should also be held accountable for the crimes."

Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing the prison authorities, that the leading Russian opposition figure collapsed on Friday after a walk in his penal colony in the northern Russian region of Yamal and immediately lost consciousness. The report said that resuscitation attempts by medics were unsuccessful.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH