US To Announce New Sanctions 'To Hold Russia Accountable' For Alexei Navalny's Death

The U.S. said on Tuesday that it will announce a new package of sanctions against Russia following the death last week of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters: “At President Biden's direction, we will be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday of this week to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny.”

The death of Navalny, who campaigned for several years against corruption within the Putin administration, was announced by the Kremlin on Friday.

Although Putin and his administration have vehemently denied involvement in the death, the circumstances under which it happened have led to outrage from Navalny’s family, and among many Russian citizens and international commentators.

Kirby added: “Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it's clear President Putin and his government are responsible.”

Also Read: ‘I Will Continue To Fight For Russia’ Vows Alexei Navalny’s Widow

Imprisonment And Death

In early December, Navalny — sentenced to more than three decades imprisonment — disappeared from his prison near Moscow. He didn’t resurface for three weeks, having been moved to an isolated penal center above the Arctic Circle. It was here that he died at the age of 47.

He was initially imprisoned in 2019 on charges of violating of his parole terms, having sought medical treatment in Berlin following a poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent.

His widow, in a statement on YouTube on Monday, expressed suspicion that another poisoning led to his death, which she believes is why authorities are preventing the family from viewing his body.

“They are now hiding his body — waiting pitifully for the traces of another Putin Novichok to disappear,” Yulia Navalnaya said.

On Monday, Amnesty International said that nearly 400 people had been arrested in 39 cities across Russia for paying their respects to Navalny since his death.

Oleg Kozlovsky, Amnesty International's Russia researcher, said: “The crackdown we are witnessing following Navalny's death in custody is not only a tragic reminder of what he fought against but also a clear indication that the Russian authorities are aiming to erase his memory.”

US Sanctions

There will be no details of specific sanctions until Friday, but Kirby said the package would “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine.”

The U.S. last tightened sanctions on Russia in May 2023, targeting individuals and entities that were helping Putin’s administration evade existing sanctions. It also imposed fresh measures on sectors, such as architecture, engineering and construction, of goods key to the battlefield.

President Joe Biden was among the first world leaders to explicitly blame Putin for Navalny’s death.

“What has happened to Navalny is yet more proof of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled — not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world,” he said on Friday.

Former President Donald Trump was less critical, opting instead to draw a comparison with Navalny’s death to what he sees as the “crooked, radical left” who are “destroying America.”

During his term as president, Trump was criticized for his praise of Putin and the cozy relationship the two enjoyed, which was mentioned by Putin in his interview with Tucker Carlson earlier this month.

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