LOS ANGELES (OC).–Kremlin officials dismissed out-of-hand an European Union [EU] autopsy on deceased opposition leader 47-year-oldAlexi Navalny. EU officials concluded that Navalny was killed Feb. 16, 2024 by the Russian state while serving out a 20-year sentence for treason in a Siberian penal colony. EU officials say the autopsy showed the presence of epibatidine, a deadly toxin derived from poisonous frogs in South America. Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalhaya said she now has proof her husband was killed by the Russian state. “Navalny died while held in prison, meaning Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to administer this poison to him,” said Britain, France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands based on the autopsy report. Kremlin Spokeman Dmitry Peskov refuted the EU findings on Navalny’s cause of death, saying the report was pure propaganda.
EU released its findings on Navalny’s death a a critical time of negotiations to end the Ukraine War. EU officials want any excuse possible to justify handing Ukraine’s 48-year-old President Voldymyr Zelensky 200 billion euros in December 2025 to continue battling the Kremlin. Four years of war has left the Ukraine in ruins with Russian President Vladimir Putin taking more sovereign land by the day. Yet no matter what his losses, Zelensky refuses to compromise with Putin on withdrawing his troops from the Donbas region. How ironic that in March 2022, only two weeks after the Feb. 24, 2022 Russian invasion, Putin offered to settle the conflict if Zelensky accepted the independence of Donetsk and Luhansky. Four years later, Zelensky has lost some 25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, with Putin offering the exact same deal to end the war.
So, why would the EU release autopsy findings that Navalny was murdered in Russian custody while serving out his 20-year sentence? “Naturally, wer do not accept such accusations. We disagree with them. We consider them biased and not base on anything. An we strongly reject them,” said Peskov, serving notice that the EU smears Russia on a regular basis. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that if the EU presents their findings to the Kremlin, Russia would respond to Navalny’s alleged poisoning. Zakharoava said the EU’s report was “merely propaganda aimed at diverting attention from pressing Western issues. Zakharova knows that the most pressing issue is ending the Ukraine War, something that hasn’t happened because the EU and Zelensky refuse to remove Ukraine’s troops from eastern Donbas, even though they control only 10% of the territory.
Navalny’s case was a favorite of the EU because it shows the brutality of Putin’ totalitarian regime, poisoning on killing off by whatever means any opposition to the Putin government. When it comes to Navalny, the latest EU report provides the perfect justification for ignoring Trump’s peace talks, something the EU has resisted, saying it would encourage Putin to seize more European territory. Countrie like the Baltic States and Poland fear that if Ukraine loses the war, Putin would be emboldened to take more EU territory. Putn has said repeatedly that he has no plans of seizing any EU territory, does not want a war with NATO. Putin asked the EU to respect Russia’s natural seucirty, not wanting Washington’s puppet regime on Russia’s border. Zelensky and the EU used the current report on Navanly to sabotage Trump’s peace plans.
Zelensky and Navalny have much in common, worried too much about face-saving and not enough about their own survival. If Navalny had any sense he would not have ignored the warning to ruturn to Moccow. Zelensky shows similary characteristics, refusing to end the war even if it means the Ukrainian people die and suffer. Navalny refused to listen to the many exile voces, including former Yukos oil billionaire Mikhail Khordorkovsky, who begged him not to return to Russia. After surviving 10 years in a Siberian prison, Russia’s once richest oligarch set up shop in Switzerland and never returned to Russia. Why Navalny refused to follow common sense advise speaks volumes about his desire to end his life. Like Navalny, Zelensky is ready to martyr Ukraine for his own ego. Where’s Zelensky or the EU’s common sense about ending the Ukraine War for the good of his people?
Navalny’s saga has now morphed into a feeble excuse by the EU to keep the Ukraine War going. How Brussels thinks that the Ukraine war defends European democracy is anyone’s guess. Ukraine can’t defend itself with all the cash-and-arms received by the United State and now the EU. When will Zelensky and the EU figure out it’s not fair to sacrifice all of Ukraine because Zelensky and the EU refuse to compromise with Putin to end the war. Zelensky hasn’t controlled eastern Donbas since the Feb. 22, 2014 Maiden Revolution. So, why Zelensky refuses to withdraw his troops to stop the bloodshed and end the war isn’t logical. Putin asked for very little of the territory he currently holds in Ukraine. If Zelensky signed on to Trump’s peace plan he would spare Ukraine more destruction. Navalny couldn’t spare himself from his own self-destruction, revealing an unexpected parallel.
About the Author John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma
