Yashin was joined in Brussels by Yulia Navalnaya — the widow of Alexei Navalny, who died in an Arctic prison in 2024 — and Russian-British journalist and former political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza. Together, they urged the EU to increase support for Ukraine and deepen collaboration with the Russian opposition.
The relationship between Ukraine and the Russian opposition has often been strained over the years. Ukraine has previously accused some opposition figures, including members of Navalny’s circle, of echoing Putin’s imperialist views — particularly by hesitating to fully condemn Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, some members of the Russian opposition have adopted a clearer and stronger position in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty.
“Putin puts in prison, tortures, kills political opponents … inflates neighboring countries, commits horrible crimes and walks free,” Navalnaya told members of the European Parliament. “Why have we failed to put a stop to his activities? Why have you failed? I think it’s because we have not joined our efforts yet,” she said.
She stressed that the Russian president’s aggression was never going to stop at Ukraine. “If he hadn’t invaded Ukraine, it would have been another neighboring country. As long as a dictator remains in power, it will never stop,” she said.
Navalnaya was sentenced in absentia by a Russian court in July 2024 for alleged involvement in an “extremist” organization — charges tied to her work with her late husband’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Russian authorities outlawed in 2021. She now lives in exile and faces arrest if she returns to Russia.
