ROME, Italy: The Biden administration is preparing “major sanctions” against Moscow in response to the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei A. Navalny, said a White House official on Tuesday.
A spokesman for the National Security Council, John F. Kirby, said the sanctions would be announced on Friday. President Joe Biden said there was “no doubt” that the Putin government was behind Navalny’s death.
“Whatever story the Russian government chooses to tell the world, it is clear that President Putin and his government are responsible for the death of Navalny,” Kirby told media.
Kirby, however, declined to specify what would be included in the sanctions package, but said it would be designed to “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny and, frankly, for all of his actions throughout this vicious and brutal war, which has been raging for two years now.”
Russian officials said Navalny, 47, lost consciousness and died after a walk on Friday in the Arctic prison where he was taken last year. Russia has announced an investigation into Navalny’s death, but Kirby said that “regardless of the actual scientific answer, Putin is responsible for it”.
“Without a credible investigation into his death, it’s hard to get to the point where we can take the Russians at their word,” Kirby said.
Navalny’s death came as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine neared the end of its second year and billions of dollars in American aid remained in Congress. Navalny, who has been one of Putin’s fiercest critics, has also been a strong voice condemning the invasion.
