According to Kirby, who addressed reporters, the penalties will “keep Russia accountable for what happened to Mr. Navalny, and for all its acts throughout the course of this violent and terrible battle that has now carried on for two years.”
Not sure how the Ukraine financing measure relates to Nvalny’s passing, Kirby wasted no time in pushing for its passage. Kirby stated, “Of course, passing the bipartisan national security supplemental measure and supporting Ukraine in their valiant defense of their homeland is one of the most effective things we can do right now to fight back against Vladimir Putin.”
Bloomberg:
“47-year-old Navalny was a vocal opponent of the Russian leader who was detained in the Arctic, and US President Joe Biden said that Putin was to blame for his passing. In 2021, Biden claimed to have warned Putin at a conference in Geneva that there would be serious repercussions if Navalny were to pass away behind bars.”
“It’s unclear if the additional restrictions would have a practical effect on Moscow, given the US has already imposed severe sanctions hurting vast sectors of Russia’s economy and important leaders following the invasion of Ukraine.”
Kirby went to considerable pains to emphasize that, despite the absence of hard proof, the Russian president is nonetheless accountable for Navalny’s demise. Mr. Kirby informed reporters on Tuesday that “it’s apparent that President Putin and his regime are culpable for Mr. Navalny’s murder, whatever tale the Russian government chose to tell the world.”
“Not discounting the fact that Mr. Putin is accountable for it, irrespective of the true scientific solution. However, Kirby said, “It’s difficult to get to a place where we can just accept the Russians word for it in the absence of any reliable inquiry into his death.”
Permission to claim the corpse has been refused to Mr. Navalny’s family, and an independent autopsy will not be performed.
The Russian economy is booming even though the government has sanctioned nearly every business in the country and penalized Putin and all of his allies. According to the New York Times, “the International Monetary Fund declared only last month that Russia’s economy is really growing faster than predicted.”
