Russia is suspected of being behind a violent attack in Lithuania on Russian opposition activist Leonid Volkov, a close ally of the late Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny who died in an Arctic prison just over three weeks ago.
Volkov, who served as Navalny's chief of staff, lives in exile in Lithuania. He was attacked and injured outside his home on Tuesday evening.
The 43-year-old was combative following the altercation. "We will carry on and not give up," he said in a video published on Telegram on Wednesday.
He called the violence a "typical bandit" behaviour by Russian President Vladimir Putin's henchmen. "They literally wanted to beat me to a pulp with a hammer," Volkov added after his release from hospital.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda believes the attack on Volkov was a deliberate act.
"It is clear that such things are planned and we should not be surprised," Nauseda asserted.
"But I want to make it very clear: the relevant authorities are investigating and will hopefully find the culprits," Nauseda told Lithuanian radio on the sidelines of a visit to France.
He added: "I can only say one thing to Putin: Nobody here is afraid of you."
According to the Lithuanian police, Volkov was attacked near his home in Vilnius at around 10 pm on Tuesday.
"The man attacked me in the courtyard and hit my leg about 15 times. The leg is fine. It hurts when I walk," Volkov said in the video. "But my arm is broken."
According to the police, Volkov was attacked and beaten by unknown persons when he arrived in a car in the courtyard of his house.
The investigation is ongoing, the police said.
The Lithuanian secret service believes that there is a 50% to 75% probability that the operation was "organized and carried out by Russia."
According to its intelligence assessment, the attack on Volkov aimed to stop projects by the Russian opposition in the run-up to presidential election in Russia.
Just a few hours before the attack, Volkov told the portal Meduza, which features Russians in exile, that he and other opposition figures fear for their safety after Navalny's death. "The main risk now is that we will all be killed. Well, that is pretty obvious," Volkov added.
