This is a statement from his wife from the Munich Security Conference:

"Thank you to the conference for giving me the opportunity to speak. I’m sure you have seen the terrible news. I kept thinking, should I come here or go be with my children. And it occurred to me that if Alexei was in my shoes, he would be standing on this stage.

I don’t know whether to believe the terrible news we received from Russian government sources because for many years – and you all know this – we cannot believe Putin and his government; they are always lying.

But if it is true… I want Putin and his friends and his government to know that they will bear the full brunt of responsibility for what they did to our country, my family, and my husband. And that day will come very soon.

I want to call on the world community, everyone in this room, people all over the world to come together and defeat this evil, this reign of terror. Putin must be held personally responsible for the horrors he did to my country, our country, in the recent years. Thank you."