US to announce ‘major sanctions’ Friday over Navalny death

The US plans to unveil a “major sanctions package” against Russia on Friday following the death of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the White House said.

“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,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.

Kirby said he was unable to preview specific financial penalties but that the package was designed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for “two years of war in Ukraine” and would be “specifically supplemented with additional sanctions regarding Mr. Navalny’s death.”

US President Joe Biden said Putin was responsible for the death of Navalny, 47, a prominent voice against the Russian leader who had been imprisoned in the Arctic. In 2021, Biden said he had warned Putin during a summit meeting in Geneva of significant consequences if Navalny were to die in prison.

The US has already imposed significant sanctions impacting large swaths of Russia’s economy and prominent officials following the invasion of Ukraine, so it’s unclear whether the new measures would have a practical effect on Moscow. 

Kirby said the US embassy in Russia is engaged with authorities there to call for “complete transparency” about the specific cause of Navalny’s death. But he expressed little confidence Washington would be able to determine it.

“Not setting aside the fact that, regardless of the of the actual scientific answer, Mr. Putin is responsible for it. But absent some credible investigation into his death, it’s hard to get to a point where we can just take the Russians’ word for it,” Kirby said.