MOSCOW: Yulia Navalnaya, the wife of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who died mysteriously in prison, posted for the first time on Sunday after her husband's death.
Taking to Instagram, Navalnaya posted a picture of herself enjoying a moment with Navalny, two days after his death.
The caption of the poignant post read, "I Love You."
Kira Yarmysh, the spokesperson for the late Russian opposition leader, confirmed Navalny's death and demanded that his body be handed over to his family "immediately." Yarmysh also accused Russian officials of lying to delay the process, CNN reported.
Yarmysh's statement comes after the Russian prison service said that Russian President Vladimir Putin's critic, Navalny, died on Friday after he felt 'unwell' during a walk in his prison and fell unconscious. The cause of his death is not clear.
Navalny had returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he was undergoing treatment after being poisoned with Novichok. Upon arrival, Navalny was arrested on charges he dismissed as politically motivated.
Navalnaya had stood by her husband as he galvanised mass protests in Russia, flying him out of the country as he lay in a coma after a poisoning and returning to Moscow with him.
She had since clung on to the hope that she would see him again even as he was given 19 years in prison.
Navalnaya, who had not seen her husband in two years, had said she held Putin personally responsible and called on the international community to "unite and defeat this evil, terrifying regime".
Navalnaya also appeared at the Munich Security Conference on Friday, where she addressed an audience of leaders, diplomats and other officials.
She had weighed coming out on stage or immediately leaving to be with the couple's two children, Daria and Zakhar, deciding her husband would want her to speak, Al Jazeera reported.
"I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putin's friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband," she said.
Putin -- who famously never referred to Navalny by name -- was on a visit to the Urals on Friday and made no mention of the death.
Reports of Navalny's death sparked outrage, with some Western leaders blaming Putin. US President Joe Biden said that he is "outraged" by the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny's death.
British PM Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen also condoled Navalny's demise while pinning the blame on Moscow.
Navalny's widow Yulia to meet EU ministers: Borrell
Meanwhile, Navalnaya is expected to meet European foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday. "On Monday, I will welcome Yulia Navalnaya to the EU Foreign Affairs Council," European Union's policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X.
"EU Ministers will send a strong message of support to freedom fighters in Russia" and "honour" Navalny's memory, he added.
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Navalnaya's "words will help all of us Europeans to understand even better what kind of violent system we have to confront and contain in Ukraine".
"It will make us feel the threat that weighs on Russian citizens and on every region of our Europe, a continent to which violence, brutality, and war have been shamefully and irresponsibly returned," Tajani said in a statement.
(With inputs from ANI and AFP)
