President Biden on Tuesday said he plans to announce “major” new sanctions on Russia at the end of the week in response to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Mr. Biden teased the Friday announcement to White House reporters as he departed for a fundraising trip to California.

“What I came to tell you was we’d be announcing sanctions on Russia. We’ll have a major package announced on Friday,” Mr. Biden said.

Mr. Biden previewed economic punishment for Russia four days after the death of Navalny, who was the fiercest critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny died in an Arctic prison Friday, sparking widespread condemnation from Mr. Biden and democratic partners. He had previously survived a poisoning that was blamed on the Kremlin, and was serving a lengthy prison term on charges of extremism.

Already, the U.S. and other Western nations are imposing strict economic sanctions on Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine.

The sanctions have taken a bite out of Russia’s economy but Moscow has found ways to keep its country afloat, in part by seeking new partners outside of the West.

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.