Alexei Navalny dead in Russian prison: Gen. Keane says Putin believes US, Europe 'taking a knee' on Ukraine

Fox News strategic analyst Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.) reacted Friday morning to reports of the death of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader and top critic of Vladimir Putin. Keane said Putin believes he's winning in Ukraine and that the U.S. and its allies do not have the "political will" to stop him.

FLASHBACK: RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER NAVALNY'S TEAM FINALLY LOCATES HIM IN REMOTE PRISON COLONY AFTER 20-DAY SEARCH

JACK KEANE: Putin is somewhat triumphant right now. He really believes that what he has predicted is coming to pass, that the United States is literally taking a knee here on supporting Ukraine and the Europeans, while not doing so right now, will eventually do so. And he looks at the United States in terms of it having political weakness at the national level and also a dysfunctional Congress, all of which he believes is playing into his hands. As such, on the battlefield, Russian forces are more aggressive than they have been in the past and are likely to take the town of Avdiivka, here in the next several days, while the Ukrainians, quite naturally husbanding their resources, not knowing what the future is going to be in terms of arms and assistance. And they're obviously in more of a defensive mode than they have been, for two years as a result of the speculation surrounding that, the doubt and skepticism that they're going to continue to be supported. What we're facing here, so people really understand: Yes, it's about the survival of Ukraine, but it's stopping Putin.

Russia President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting of the Presidential Council for Science and Education via videoconference at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Feb. 8. Denmark is warning that Russia could attack NATO in the next three to five years. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

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Putin is preparing his forces for hybrid warfare in Eastern Europe, likely focused on the Baltics, similar to what we saw in 2014 in Crimea and then in eastern Ukraine. He is making those preparations. Why? Because of the confidence that he has, that he's going to be able to take Ukraine, that the political will of the United States and Europe has broken and he has broken it, and that is what he is doing. And listen, the thing we got on the stand about Putin, he does what he says, and he's talked about Ukraine for years, and he's talked about the former states that were a part of the Soviet Union returning to the Soviet empire. He has never given up on these things, and he's moving in that direction. We've got to wake up and take this issue seriously. And do many people in the United States really want to see Europe blown up like we're talking about here? Do we really want to live in a world where Russia, Iran and China are calling the shots, where they are the aggressors, they have the initiative, they have the momentum, and we're back on our heels? You can see what's happening in the Middle East as a result of it. You can see what's happening in the political will of the United States concerning Ukraine and President Xi's aggression has increased significantly in the last two to three years. This is all related. We have to wake up to recognize the threat that we're facing simultaneously from China, Russia and Iran.

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny takes part in a march in memory of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in Moscow, Russia on Feb. 29, 2020. (AP/Pavel Golovkin)

Russia’s prison agency announced Friday that prominent Vladimir Putin critic and opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died at the age of 47.

The Federal Prison Service said in a statement that Navalny felt unwell after a walk on Friday and lost consciousness, according to The Associated Press. An ambulance arrived to try to rehabilitate him, but he died, the statement added.

Navalny's spokesperson said in a post on X that "we have no confirmation of this yet.

"Alexei's lawyer is currently on his way to Kharp. As soon as we have some information, we will report on it," Kira Yarmysh added.

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Navalny was being held at the IK-3 penal colony, also known as "Polar Wolf," in Kharp in northern Russia, which is considered one of the country's toughest prisons.

Previously, Russian authorities had held him at a facility roughly 145 miles east of Moscow. Navalny’s team lost contact with him after he failed to appear in court via video link for a hearing on Dec. 5, kicking off a desperate search until he resurfaced in Kharp around Christmas.

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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