Latest news after Russian war in Ukraine and Navalny’s death, live

Yulia Navalnaya, wife of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, shakes hands with European Council President Charles Michel before a meeting in Brussels on February 19. (Credit: Yves Herman/AP)

Alexei Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, is in Brussels this Monday to attend a number of meetings.

Arriving at the European Council, he shook hands with its President Charles Michel before meeting behind closed doors. The Council is composed of the heads of state or government of all EU member states and is its main decision-making body.

On Sunday, EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said he would welcome Navalny to Monday’s EU Foreign Affairs Council.

“EU ministers will send a strong message of support to freedom fighters in Russia and will honor the memory of Alexei Navalny,” he said in his message on X.

Borrell also expressed his “deepest condolences” to Navalny in X and said that President Vladimir Putin and “his regime will be held accountable.”

Navalny met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. Von der Leyen posted on Twitter that she was “extremely disturbed and saddened” by the news of Navalny’s death.

For its part, Germany has summoned the Russian ambassador to the country following Navalny’s death, according to a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

A little context: According to the Russian prison service, Navalny died on Friday. The cause of his death is not clear. Navalny returned to Russia in 2021 from Germany, where he received treatment after being poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. Upon arrival, Navalny was immediately detained on charges he rejected as politically motivated.

CNN’s James Frater and Eve Brennan in London contributed to this report.