According to the WSJ report, US intelligence shared the assessment with some European intelligence agencies. But some European security officials “remain skeptical” that Putin did not play a hand in Navalny's death, given his tight grip on Russia.
The US assessment is “based on a range of information, including some classified intelligence, and an analysis of public facts, including the timing of his death and how it overshadowed Putin's re-election,” the WSJ said.
Navalny's ally Leonid Volkov told the WSJ that “the idea that Putin was not informed and did not approve the killing of Navalny is ridiculous”.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees U.S. intelligence, declined to comment on the matter, according to the WSJ report.
Putin denied any involvement in Navalny's death. Last month, the Russian president said he had agreed to swap the opposition leader in a prisoner exchange days before Navalny's death, confirming claims by a close Navalny ally that Russia and Western officials had negotiated a prisoner swap deal.
On Saturday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had seen the WSJ report.
“I wouldn't say it's a high-quality material that deserves any attention,” Peskov said, according to Russian media. “Some very empty arguments. Apparently they planted it for a Saturday reading to a global audience,” he said.
