US intelligence officials don’t think Putin directly responsible for Alexei Navalny’s death: report

US intelligence officials do not think Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death Alexei Navalny, according to a report slammed by one critic as “absurd.”

Alexei Navalny was found dead in a notorious Arctic penal colony in February, sparking worldwide outrage over the loss of the opposition leader who was widely seen as Putin’s strongest critic.

But various US agencies — including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the State Department’s intelligence unit — agree Russia’s strongman is likely not directly to blame, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.