The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it has sanctioned seven officials, including Russian Federal Security Service chief Vladimir Portnikov, in connection with the poisoning of Russian reactionary leader Vladimir Navalny. U.S. intelligence agencies determined that Moscow authorities were behind the poisoning of Navalny.
AFP news agency, this is the Biden administration against Russia’s implementation of the first sanctions measures. The current President Biden has taken a tougher stance on Russia than former President Trump.
The Kremlin’s use of chemical weapons to “silence” political opponents shows its disregard for international practice, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday. An unnamed official said the U.S. sanctions were a coordinated joint effort with ally the European Union.
The U.S. Treasury Department noted that Potnikov and seven other senior Russian officials will have their assets frozen in the U.S. and any dealings with them in the U.S. will be prosecuted. Also sanctioned are Investigative Committee Chairman Bastrikin, who is primarily responsible for investigating major cases and reports directly to Putin, and three others, including Prosecutor General Kraslov, National Guard Chairman Zolotov, and Russian Federation Prison Chief Karasnikov. 14 entities linked to the production of chemical and biological items, including 13 commercial establishments and a government research institute, will face punitive measures.
Last October, the European Union also offered sanctions against Portnikov over the Navalny poisoning case, including freezing his assets and imposing a travel ban on him.
Senior U.S. officials say U.S. intelligence agencies have come up with an assessment that Russia’s Federal Security Service used a nerve agent called Novichok to poison opposition leader Navalny on Aug. 20, 2020.
The U.S. and the European Union are again demanding that Russia release Navalny. Navalny, who accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of corruption and sparked massive public protests, was arrested in January on his return to Moscow from Germany and sent to serve his sentence in exile.
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