'Additional sanctions' against Russia being considered after Navalny death, says Biden

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY
Updated ·2 min read
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President Joe Biden on Monday said the U.S. is considering “additional sanctions” on Russia for the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, which he previously blamed on Vladimir Putin "and his thugs."

The president and First lady Jill Biden had just stepped off Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on their return from Rehoboth Beach, Del., when he briefly stopped to answer reporters’ questions.

Asked if would put additional sanctions on Russia over Navalny’s death: "We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes.”

A woman places flowers as people pay tribute to Alexei Navalny at the Memorial to Victims of Political Repression in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. Russians across the vast country streamed to ad-hoc memorials with flowers and candles to pay tribute to Alexei Navalny, the most famous Russian opposition leader, and the Kremlin's fiercest critic. Russian officials reported that Navalny, 47, died in prison on Friday.

Navalny, 47, a lawyer who had survived a poisoning and spent months in isolation cells, died in an Arctic Circle maximum-security prison, Russian state media reported Friday. Navalny was last seen Thursday, smiling and making jokes in a video taken during a court appearance in the Russian penal colony where he was in captivity.

"Make no mistake, Putin is responsible for Navalny's death," Biden said Friday, singling out the Russian president. "What has happened is yet more proof of Putin’s brutality. No one should be fooled. Not in Russia, not at home, not anywhere in the world.”

More: 'Navalny': How to watch the Oscar-winning documentary about the late Putin critic

Biden said the U.S. doesn’t know exactly what transpired.

Biden has been urging the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to immediately approve $60 billion in security funding for Ukraine two years into Putin’s invasion and war in Ukraine.

So far, Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to take the foreign aid bill to the House floor for a vote, insisting it also include measures to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

February 19, 2024: Flowers are seen placed around a portrait of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a makeshift memorial in front of the former Russian consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, three days after Navalny died in a Russian Arctic prison. Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya accused Russian President Putin of killing her husband and vowed to continue Navalny's work.

More: How did Navalny die? No clear answers as 400 arrested for paying tribute: Live updates

Asked if there’s “blood on the hands” of Republicans holding off on the foreign aid bill, Biden said they were “making a big mistake by not responding.”

“They way they’re walking away from the threat of Russia, the way they’re walking away from NATO. The way they're walking away from meeting our obligations,” he said. “It's just shocking. I've never seen anything like it."

Asked if Navalny’s death would make a difference on Republicans as far as the aid package: “I hope so, but I'm not sure."

More: Alexei Navalny, a thorn in Vladimir Putin's side, died in prison. What does it mean for Russia?

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden says US considering 'additional sanctions' against Russia,