Navalny confirms he's in Arctic penal colony and says he's "fine"

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny on Tuesday said he was "fine" after a "pretty exhausting" 20-day transfer from his prison near Moscow to a penal colony beyond the Arctic Circle.

Navalny's supporters said on Monday that the Kremlin critic, whose whereabouts had been unknown for more than two weeks, was now in the penal colony in Russia's far north and had been visited by his lawyer.

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I'm totally relieved that I've finally made it," Navalny wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "I'm still in a good mood, as befits a Santa Claus," referring to his winter clothing and a beard he grew during his journey.