President Joe Biden addresses reporters from the Roosevelt Room of the White House on February 16, 2024, regarding the reported death of Alexei Navalny.PHOTO/Getty Images
In Summary:
- The Biden administration announces plans for significant sanctions against Russia following the death of Alexei Navalny, a critic of Putin.
- The sanctions aim to hold Russia accountable for Navalny’s death and its actions in the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the Biden administration will implement “major sanctions” against Russia in response to the death of Alexei Navalny, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who died under suspicious circumstances while in prison.
John Kirby, the White House’s national security communications adviser, stated that the sanctions aim to hold Russia responsible for Navalny’s fate and its actions during the Ukraine conflict, which has endured for two years.
President Joe Biden is set to reveal the details of the sanctions package on Friday. Kirby refrained from providing specifics about the sanctions or how they may differ from previous measures imposed on Russia.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Biden administration enforced economic sanctions targeting major Russian financial institutions, prohibited the import of Russian energy products to the U.S., and penalized wealthy Russian figures linked to Putin.
Jake Sullivan, White House national security adviser, emphasized the significance of the new sanctions, noting that they aim to impose costs on Russia for its actions.
Sullivan described the sanctions as “another turn of the crank, another turn of the wheel, and it is a significant range of targets that we have worked persistently and diligently to identify to continue to impose costs for what Russia has done.”
Despite attributing Navalny’s death to Putin, the U.S. has yet to determine the exact cause of his demise while in custody. Kirby expressed the desire for clarity, stating, “We all would love to know what happened here. Regardless of the actual scientific answer, Mr. Putin is responsible for it.”
Mourners gather near the Russian embassy in Paris, France, placing flowers and a portrait in memory of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died on February 16, 2024.
The White House criticized the Republican-controlled House of Representatives for failing to approve $60 billion in security assistance for Ukraine before going on recess, citing the dire need for supplies on the battlefield.
Kirby blamed the lack of arms and ammunition for Ukraine’s retreat from Avdiivka, which was seized by Russian forces. He stressed that congressional inaction has contributed to Ukraine’s losses and urged swift approval of the funding package to counter Putin’s aggression.