U.S. SLAPS SANCTIONS ON RUSSIAN OFFICIALS OVER NAVALNY POISONING

The Biden administration has accused Russia’s FSB, one of its leading intelligence agencies, orchestrated the poisoning of Alexei Navalny and announced sanctions against Moscow for the attack and the imprisonment of the opposition politician, David E. Sanger and Steven Erlanger reported for the New York Times.

However, Sanger and Erlanger said none of the sanctions was specifically directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, or the country’s intelligence chiefs, or the oligarchs that support the Russian leader.

The European Union (EU) on Monday approved the imposition of sanctions on four senior Russian officials considered responsible for the prosecution and imprisonment of Mr. Navalny.

Ellen Knickmeyer and Eric Tucker reported for the Associated Press (AP) on March 3 that the Biden administration also announced sanctions for 14 businesses and another enterprise, most of which it said were involved in the production of biological and chemical agents.

Tuesday’s sanctions would be the first of several steps by the Biden administration to “respond to a number of destabilizing actions,” said one of the administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition they not be identified further.

The sanctions are the first against Russia by the Biden administration, which has pledged to confront President Vladimir Putin for alleged attacks on Russian opposition figures and hacking abroad, including of US government agencies and US businesses.

President Donald Trump had spoken admiringly of Putin and resisted criticism and many proposed penalties of Putin’s government, AP reported.

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