Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny Alleges Russian Forces Killed Ukrainian Man For Sharing His Surname

Alexei Navalny, one of the most vocal critics of Russia's President Vladimir Putin, said Russian troops killed a Ukrainian man named Ilya Navalny because they shared the same last name.

In a series of tweets, the jailed Kremlin critic wrote Tuesday the Russian soldiers reportedly killed the “innocent” 60-year-old civilian and threw his passport nearby. Ilya’s remains were found in Bucha, where the bodies of more than 400 people, believed to be killed by the soldiers, were left behind when Russian forces retreated from the area last month, the New York Post reported.

“This is one of the people killed in the Ukrainian village of Bucha. Ilya Ivanovich Navalny,” Alexei wrote in a string of tweets.

“Everything indicates that they killed him because of his last name. That's why his passport was defiantly thrown nearby,” he went on to say. “A completely innocent person was killed by Putin's executioners (what else can I call them? definitely not ‘Russian soldiers’) because he is my namesake. Apparently, they hoped he was a relative of mine.”

Alexei, whose claims have not been verified, is known to be a Putin-detractor, and is one of the most prominent faces of Russian opposition.

He was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent in 2020, following which he had received treatment in Germany. Alexei had said Putin had a hand in the attack, an allegation which was denied by the Kremlin.

When he returned to Russia in 2021, he was put behind bars on charges of embezzlement and contempt, according to Reuters. He was also found guilty of additional charges and sentenced to nine years in jail in March as part of a move that some saw as Russia's crackdown on dissenters.

Alexei said he doesn’t know if Ilya shared any familial ties with him.

“I don't know if he is related to me. He is from the same village as my father. So, maybe he is my relative, but there are generally lots of Navalnys in that village,” he wrote on Twitter.

The dissident added it was everyone’s “duty” to “remove Putin from power.”

“This war was also unleashed by a raving maniac obsessed with some nonsense about geopolitics, history and the structure of the world,” read Navalny's tweets. “This maniac will not stop himself. He, like a drug addict, got hooked on death, war and lies - he needs them to maintain his power."

Russian forces invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 and repeatedly shelled several areas of the neighboring country. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Monday they have recorded 2,072 civilian deaths since the invasion began, Anadolu Agency reported. Another 2,818 civilians were left injured, while close to 5 million people have fled the country.