US to impose ‘major sanctions’ on Russia over Navalny death, as Kremlin shirks blame
New sanctions to join existing ones from Russia-Ukraine war; US pressuring Kremlin to provide ‘complete transparency’ on circumstances of Navalny’s death
The United States will announce a major package of sanctions against Russia on Friday over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the two-year Ukraine war, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.
The package will “hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny,” and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, Kirby said, without providing details on the sanctions measures.
Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kirby said the US is pressing Russia for “complete transparency” on how Navalny died last Friday at an Arctic penal colony.
The prison service said at the time that Navalny fell unconscious after a walk and died. US President Joe Biden has blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The US already has issued a wide array of sanctions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it’s clear that President Putin and his government are responsible for Mr. Navalny’s death,” Kirby said.
Kirby said the US embassy in Moscow has been seeking more information about Navalny’s death, “but it’s difficult to get a point where you can be confident in what the Russians would say about his death.”
Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson confirmed Saturday that the Russian opposition leader had died at a remote Arctic penal colony and said he was “murdered,” but it is unclear where his body is.
An official note handed to Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17 p.m. local time Friday, Kira Yarmysh said. She added that an employee of the prison colony said that Navalny’s body was taken to the nearby city of Salekhard, as part of a probe into his death.
“We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” Yarmysh wrote on X, previously Twitter. The cause and the circumstances of Navalny’s death Friday remain largely unclear.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the allegations of murder on Tuesday, telling reporters that “these are absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state.”