European Leaders Express Shock at News of Navalny’s Death

Word of Aleksei A. Navalny’s death drew condemnation from across Europe on Friday, with leaders holding Russia’s government, and specifically President Vladimir V. Putin, responsible for the demise of the imprisoned Russian dissident.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was in Germany on Friday for the Munich Security Conference, said that Mr. Navalny “was killed by Putin, like thousands of others who were tortured because of this one creature.”

Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, speaking alongside Mr. Zelensky after signing a security agreement with him in Berlin, expressed dismay at the reports of Mr. Navalny’s death, calling them “very depressing.”

“It’s awful the way Russia has changed,” Mr. Scholz said.

His predecessor as chancellor, Angela Merkel, who in 2020 succeeded in persuading Mr. Putin to allow Mr. Navalny to be flown to Berlin for treatment after being poisoned, expressed her “great dismay” at the reports of the opposition leader’s death.

“He was a victim of Russia’s repressive state power,” Ms. Merkel said in a statement. “It is terrible that a courageous, fearless voice who stood up for his country has been silenced by terrible methods.”

Throughout her 16-year tenure, Ms. Merkel was considered the only Western leader capable of communicating with Mr. Putin. Despite his repeated attempts to intimidate her, she insisted that he would be more dangerous if isolated, and maintained continual contact with him. During her final visit to Moscow as chancellor in August 2021, Ms. Merkel urged the Russian president to release Mr. Navalny, calling his detention “unacceptable.”