Earlier on Monday, Russian investigators informed her and Navalny’s lawyers that his body would be withheld an additional 14 days so it could be examined. Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh suggested the handover could be delayed until after the upcoming presidential election, scheduled for March 15-17.

Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, accused Putin of orchestrating her husband’s death. In a video address published on Monday she vowed to continue her husband’s fight against the Russian president.

“These are rude accusations of the head of the Russian state,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday. “I don’t care how the press secretary of the killer interprets my words,” Yulia Navalnaya responded on X (formerly Twitter).

Her account on the social media channel was later inaccessible for about an hour on Tuesday afternoon, but X restored it.

Demands for the release of Navalny’s body continue to grow, with over 70,000 Russians sending emails to the Russian Investigative Committee (SKR), calling on it to release the politician’s body to his family.

The SKR, similar to America’s FBI, is a federal agency that handles high-profile cases including corruption, homicide and terrorism, as well as cases involving the political opposition.