Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed for the first time on Sunday that the now deceased Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was to be freed in a prisoner exchange. Putin said at a press conference in Moscow following his victory in presidential elections accompanied by allegations of manipulation that he had already given his approval for Navalny to be exchanged for Russians imprisoned in the West. “As for Mr Navalny, he is no longer alive,” Putin was quoted as saying. “This is a sad event.” “Unfortunately, what happened happened,” Putin went on to say about the activist’s death. “But it happe…