Alexei Navalny, opposition leader and Kremlin critic, died in prison

The Russian prison service reports that Alexei Navalny, a longtime opposition politician and critic of Vladimir Putin, passed away in custody at the age of 47.

"On 02/16/2024, in correctional colony No. 3, convicted Navalny A.A. felt ill after a walk, almost immediately losing consciousness. The medical staff of the institution immediately arrived, and an ambulance team was called. All necessary resuscitation measures were carried out, which did not give positive results. The doctors of the emergency medical service pronounced the convict dead," the release said.

In his remarks to the nation after learning of Navalny's passing, President Joe Biden blamed Putin directly while expressing that he was "not surprised and outraged."

"We don't know exactly what happened but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was the result of something that Putin and his friends did," said President Biden.

In response to news of her husband's passing, Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, spoke to leaders at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

"We cannot believe Putin, they always lie," she stated. "If this is true I want Putin, his friends, his government, and his entire entourage to know that they will be held responsible for the harm they have caused to our nation, my husband, and my family. And that day will come very soon."