Two Polish men arrested over attack on Navalny aide Leonid Volkov

April 19 (UPI) -- Two Polish men were arrested on suspicion of carrying out a "brutal" attack on exiled Russian political dissident Leonid Volkov, the former chief of staff of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, at his home in Vilnius last month, authorities said Friday.

Confirming the arrests Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda thanked his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda and the security forces of both countries.

"Navalny aide Leonid Volkov was brutally attacked in Vilnius. Today, I am glad to announce that suspects have been detained in Poland. Thank you to Andrzej Duda, Polish and Lithuanian law enforcement. Together we warn the organizers of the crime: do not try to repeat it," Nauseda said in a post on X.

Volkov hailed the arrests and thanked authorities in both countries for their dogged efforts to track down the perpetrators of a March 12 hammer attack that left him with a broken arm and bloodied leg in what he described at the time as "an obvious, typical, gangster greeting from Putin, from bandit St. Petersburg."

"I don't know any other details yet, but I can say: I have seen how energetically and persistently the Lithuanian police have worked over the past month on this case, and I am very glad that this work has been effective," he wrote on social media.

The Lithuanian prosecutor's office said in a statement that the men were in custody in the capital, Warsaw, after being arrested on April 3 and that the attack was motivated by Volkov's "beliefs and political activities."

Polish police confirmed they had executed a European Arrest Warrant and that the suspects were being held in judicial detention at the Warsaw-Praga district prosecutor's building.

Vollkov, 43, who received hospital treatment after being ambushed by an unknown assailant as he arrived at his home in the Lithuanian capital where he has lived since 2020, served as chairman of Nalvany's Anti-Corruption Foundation until last year.

The attack came two days before elections in which President Vladimir Putin swept to a third consecutive term but which Navalny's widow, Yulia, called on voters to protest.

Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service also placed Volkov on a "terror" list of individuals authorities believe are engaged in activities in support of groups Moscow deems "terrorist or extremist."