Trudeau says ‘weakling’ Putin executed Navalny to crush dissent

Justin Trudeau wrapped up a surprise trip to war-torn Ukraine with a blistering attack on Vladimir Putin, calling the Russian leader a “weakling” who uses police and the military to crush his opposition.

Speaking with reporters at the end of his visit to the capital Kiyv, Trudeau accused Putin of “executing” opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died unexpectedly a week ago in the Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 19-year sentence. 

Navalny, 47, was roundly considered Putin’s greatest political foe. The Kremlin has rejected allegations that Putin was involved in Navalny’s death, calling them “absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state.”

“I think we know, we’ve seen, repeatedly, the extent to which any opposition in Russia is either marginalized or, quite frankly, executed,” Trudeau said Saturday. 

“What happened to Alexei Navalny demonstrates that for all that Putin pretends to be strong, he’s actually a coward,” he continued.

“To execute one’s political opponents, to quash dissent by using police and military, to make sure there is no opposition is the mark of a weakling, not a mark of someone who is confident in his own position.”

Putin is running for a fifth term as president next month in an election he is all but certain to win. Trudeau launched into his attack on the Russian leader when he was asked whether he would recognize the results of that election.

His remarks were the culmination of a day designed to mark the second anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion on Ukraine.