The spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, has announced that the United States will impose “significant sanctions” against Russia, a country it blames for the death in prison of the main opposition, Alexei Navalny. The new package of sanctions, which is added to those already imposed for the invasion of Ukraine, will be unveiled this Friday, expectedly, by President Joe Biden.
The White House will coincide the new sanctions with the second anniversary of the Ukraine war (Saturday), at a time of stagnation in the conflict, in which kyiv has stopped receiving foreign aid from the United States. A flow of weapons and money that is increasingly questioned among the American population and blocked in the House of Representatives, with a Republican majority. The president of said chamber, Mike Johnson, has rejected a vote on this proposal, which was approved in the Senate.
“One of the most powerful things we can do right now to stand up to Vladimir Putin is to pass the bipartisan supplemental national security bill and support Ukraine as it continues to bravely fight and defend its country,” he said, calling on Republicans to lift the blockade promoted, from outside Congress, by Donald Trump.
Kirby has assured that they have not yet determined the cause of death of Navalni, who had been in prison since 2021, when he set foot on Russian soil after receiving treatment in Germany for poisoning with the Novichok nerve agent. The United States considers Russian President Putin primarily responsible for his death, “regardless of the scientific answer.”
In his statement after learning of the death of the Russian opponent, last Friday Biden said that he was “contemplating” new sanctions on Russia. However, he was not very forceful when asked about a statement he had made in 2021, when he warned of “devastating consequences” for the country if Navalny died in prison.
The president argued that there were already numerous sanctions in place and that the situation is not the same as when he made that statement, before the invasion began. But this Tuesday Kirby assured that Navalni’s death will not be exempt from an “important” punishment, which will also respond to the situation of the war in Ukraine.
For his part, Biden’s likely rival in the November elections, Trump, broke his silence on this matter yesterday in a publication on his platform, Truth Social. And he did so without sending condolences to the family, or holding Putin responsible for Navalny’s death, and took the opportunity to launch a victimist political message: “The sudden death of Alexei Navalni has made me more aware of what is happening in our country. “This is a slow and steady progression, with radical left politicians, prosecutors and judges leading us down the path of destruction.”
