Russian leader Vladimir Putin said he had agreed to a prisoner swap involving his staunch critic Alexei Navalny before the opposition leader's death in prison last month.
Why it matters: Putin's comments during a news conference after claiming a landslide win in the country's presidential election on Sunday, as expected, mark the first time he has commented on the dissident leader's death in a Russian penal colony last month.
Sunday marked the final day of the Russian election and saw widespread protests against President Vladimir Putin at polling sites in the country and at Russian embassies worldwide.
The big picture: Known as "Noon Against Putin," the late Alexei Navalny supported an initiative that urged voters to go to the polls and either spoil their ballot or vote for a non-Putin candidate at noon on Sunday, both inside and outside of Russia.
White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sunday that it's up to the Israeli people and their government to decide to hold new elections, days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged such a move occur.
The big picture: Schumer levied some of the harshest criticism yet of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a senior U.S. official, as discontent grows among President Biden and members of his administration about the prime minister's policies.
