OAN’s Brooke Mallory
1:05 PM – Tuesday, February 20, 2024
In an attempt to hold Russia accountable for the alleged killing of President Vladimir Putin’s opposition candidate Alexei Navalny last week, President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that his administration would impose significant sanctions on Russia on Friday. did.
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Before departing on a West Coast tour, Biden confirmed with reporters the upcoming package.
“I came to tell you, [that] We will announce sanctions on Russia. “We’ll have major policy announcements on Friday,” Biden said.
The new penalties were first announced early Tuesday by National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, who also said the restrictions were a response to Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine, which began about two years ago. He also said that.
He emphasized that Congress passing an emergency spending bill to help Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine is one of the “strongest actions” the United States can take to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin. did.
Navalny died at the age of 47 in Russia’s prison colony in the Arctic Circle, the country’s prison authorities announced on Friday. Late last year, Navalny was transferred to the same prison, where he was serving sentences totaling more than 30 years on charges of fraud and extremism, both of which he contested.
“On February 16, 2024, in Penal Colony 3, inmate AA Navalny felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness,” the Yamalo-Nenets regional prison said in a statement on its website. Ta.
It is said that there is no further information known to Russian authorities regarding the circumstances of his death. Navalny appeared healthy and in good spirits in a video from a court hearing the day before.
Navalny’s family is still fighting for the return of his body. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, claims Russia is hiding the body to cover up what it claims was a murder.
Mr. Biden on Friday explicitly blamed President Putin for Mr. Navalny’s death and hinted that the United States could impose additional sanctions on Russia.
“Make no mistake, President Putin is responsible for Mr. Navalny’s death. President Putin is responsible,” he said at the White House. “What happened to Mr. Navalny is further proof of Mr. Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled, in Russia, at home or anywhere in the world. Putin has targeted himself. Not only do [the] nationals of other countries. He is also committing terrible crimes against his own people, as we have seen what is happening now in Ukraine. ”
Asked whether Navalny’s killing was the result of an assassination, Biden said: “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there’s no doubt that Putin and his thugs did something.” I answered. [something]” which led to Navalny’s death.
Mr. Biden expressed hope that Mr. Navalny’s death would prompt Congress to approve an emergency aid package that would provide additional aid on top of the billions of dollars the United States has already given to Ukraine.
“We will never forget our failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment,” Biden said. “It’s going to be etched in the pages of history. It really is. It’s consequential.”
Biden will participate in a virtual meeting of G7 leaders on Saturday, the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
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