Two suspects held in Poland over attack on Moscow opponent in Vilnius

Two people have been arrested in Poland for allegedly carrying out last month’s violent attack in Lithuania on Kremlin critic Leonid Volkov, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Friday.

The suspects are to be handed over to the country soon, Nauseda said in Vilnius, according to Lithuanian radio.

There was initially no announcement from the Polish authorities regarding the arrest.

Nauseda did not provide any further information on the two suspects or the possible extradition date. The Lithuanian Police also did not comment.

Volkov, who lives in exile in Lithuania, was attacked with a hammer and injured outside his home in Vilnius on March 12.

The 43-year-old close confidant of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp in February, later called the incident “typical bandit” behaviour by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s henchmen.

Lithuania’s intelligence service previously suspected that Russian secret services were behind the attack on the opposition figure.

Despite still being in the dark about the events leading to the arrests, Volkov welcomed the success of the authorities’ investigation.

“I have seen how energetically and persistently the Lithuanian police have worked on this case over the past month and I am very happy that this work has been successful,” he wrote on Telegram. “Well, we will know the details soon. I can hardly wait.”