White House Set to Unleash Major Sanctions Against Russia Over Navalny’s Death

Condemning Ukraine invasion and Navalny’s death
EU likely to confiscate Russian Central Bank frozen funds
Russian oil cap expected to be lowered
Explicit offensives expected ahead of G7 summit

The White House announced it would unveil a “major sanction” package against Russia on the 23rd.

According to USA Today and NBC reports on the 20th (local time), John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications of the National Security Council, said in an online briefing, “The Russian government and President Vladimir Putin are responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny.” He added, “We will announce a ‘major sanction package’ against Russia on the 23rd, as directed by President Joe Biden.”

Kirby urged Russia to “transparently reveal everything related to the circumstances around Navalny’s death.” He reiterated that “Putin is responsible for his death, regardless of the actual scientific results (of the cause of death).”

Navalny, a major adversary of Russian President Putin, suddenly died on the 16th in a notorious Siberian prison known for its harsh conditions.

The day before, President Biden had announced that he was considering additional sanctions against Russia for Navalny’s death.

It is unclear what specific sanctions will be announced. In a briefing, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that “there will be significant sanctions” but refrained from revealing the exact details in advance.

However, local US media predict that the sanctions will primarily include adding Russian individuals and corporations to the sanctions list. The sanctions will be mainly on freezing Russian Central Bank funds, confiscating frozen funds, banning certain Russian goods, and lowering the cap on Russian oil.

Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, described the new sanctions as “a substantive package that covers various elements of Russia’s defense industry base and war system, as well as economic sources that enable aggression against Ukraine and repression of its own citizens.”

The announcement of major sanctions on the 23rd is due to the forthcoming G7 virtual summit scheduled for the next day. Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, is also expected to participate in this virtual meeting.

After announcing the major sanctions, it is expected that participation will be urged through the G7 summit.