President Joe Biden 0n Friday announced hundreds of new sanctions against Russia for the death of dissident Alexei Navalny and two years of the war in Ukraine.
The Biden administration is imposing more than 500 new sanctions against Russia including sanctions on individual connected to Navalny’s death and sanctions on Russia’s defense and financial industries, Biden said in a statement.
“Today, I am announcing more than 500 new sanctions against Russia for its ongoing war of conquest on Ukraine and for the death of Aleksey Navalny, who was a courageous anti-corruption activist and Putin’s fiercest opposition leader,” Biden stated.
“These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents,” the statement continued. “They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.”
Navalny died a week ago inside an Arctic penal colony after what Russian authorities said was a sudden incident. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having him poisoned and hiding his body to cover it up. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Navalnaya’s “boorish” allegations and said they were unsubstantiated.
Biden also blamed Putin for Navalny’s death in a speech delivered shortly after the news of his passing. The Kremlin denied any involvement in Navalny’s death and said it is investigating the circumstances surrounding it. Navalny’s team has said the Kremlin is using the investigation to buy time.
Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny’s mother, pushed for Putin to allow her to see her son’s body on Tuesday after she was not allowed to see it for five days. Russian authorities subsequently allowed her to see his body on Wednesday and sign his death certificate, Lyudmila Navalnaya said in a video message posted Thursday.
Navalny’s mother accused Russian authorities of “blackmailing” her by telling her how Navalny should be buried.
“Looking at me in the eyes, they say that if I don’t agree to a secret funeral, they will do something with my son’s body,” Lyudmila Navalnaya stated.
Yulia Navalnaya and Navalny’s daughter Dasha Navalnaya met with Biden Thursday.
Biden is also calling for for the House to pass the bipartisan national security supplemental bill that would provide roughly $60 billion of assistance to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel. The Senate passed the measure on February 13th over opposition from a group of Republicans.