Alexei Navalny was close to freedom at the time he died, the journalist Maria Pevchikh said in a statement posted to the opposition politician’s YouTube channel. “Navalny was supposed to be free in the coming days,” she says, according to her statement’s subtitles. Pevchikh said negotiations for an exchange deal involving Navalny, Vadim Krasikov, an FSB agent jailed in Germany, and two US citizens were “in the final stages” on February 15, the day before Navalny’s death. She also said that Roman Abramovich“ was the one who delivered the proposal to swap Navalny to [Vladimir] Putin”. Storyful has not confirm these details. In the video, Pevchikh also repeats the claim that Putin had Navalny killed. #alexeinavalny #mariapevchikh #russia The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more. Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/ Follow The New York Post on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost