Putin's Defense On Why His Men Didn't Poison Opposition Leader: "They Would Have Finished The Job"

The Hill - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday blasted reports about a poisoning attempt targeting opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, saying if Russian agents wanted him dead they would have “probably finished it.”

Putin made the remark during his annual press conference, CNN reported, following a report from Bellingcat on Monday that reveled an operation to trail the opposition leader by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

The Russian president said the investigation was “the legalization of the materials of American special services,” according to CNN. He added that Navalny is “enjoying the support of the US special services in this.”

"And if that's correct, then that's interesting, then of course [our] special services need to keep an eye on him,” Putin said, according to CNN. "But that doesn't mean he needs to be poisoned, who needs him anyway? If [they] wanted to, they would've probably finished it.”

There are gangsters and then there is Vladi Putin. 

Just zero fucks given. Zero. 

Not only did he not go out of his way to not comment on a clear and blatant attempt to poison yet another critic of his (a well practiced method in Kremlin the past few years) but he went on the record basically saying "it wasn't us because if it was he'd be dead." 

The best part is it's a known fact the Russian FBS (the equivalent of the NSA) was tailing this poor guy for months

The report published Monday reveled that three officers from the FSB followed Navalny to Siberia in August, and trailed him to the city of Tomsk. Further data revealed that one of the agents was not far from the hotel where Nalvany was staying.

Navalny was poisoned in August and nearly died. He was taken to Germany from treatment, and released from the hospital the following month. Physicians at the hospital said it was possible for him to fully recover, but the long-term effects of the poison were not yet known.

Respect to this Navalny guy. Openly campaigning against Putin is basically signing your own death warrant. Not sure there's been anybody that stupid or brazen since Don Ermilio Barzini in the Godfather.

Roll one of the best clip sequences in cinematic history