Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
US President Joe Biden speaks to the media in San Francisco on Thursday.
CNN –
The Biden administration will impose a new list of sanctions against more than 500 targets on Friday in response to the death of opposition figure Alexei Navalny and on the eve of Russia's two-year war in Ukraine, according to a Treasury Department official.
The sanctions represent the latest move by the administration to impose consequences on Russia amid rising tensions between the two countries.
U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the new measures were a “comprehensive package” covering a wide range of elements related to Russia's defense industrial base and the revenue streams of the Russian economy that support the “war machine.” of the country. ”
President Joe Biden teased the sanctions earlier Thursday, saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was “responsible” for Navalny's death. The comments came shortly after he met with Navalny's widow and daughter in San Francisco.
Biden has repeatedly condemned Putin and called him “a crazy son of a bitch” during a fundraiser in San Francisco on Wednesday, according to pool reporters traveling with the US president.
“We have a crazy sob, this guy, Putin, others. And we always have to worry about a nuclear conflict. But the existential threat to humanity is climate,” Biden told those gathered at the fundraiser. The Kremlin responded by saying Biden's comments were a “great shame” for the United States.
Sullivan described the package as “another turnaround” after Western sanctions against Moscow had been weakened since the start of the Ukraine war. While these sanctions have hurt the Russian economy, they have not stopped Putin from continuing the invasion.
The US, along with other Western governments, has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia in recent years, but Russia has adapted. Putin has begun to rejoice at Russia's resistance to international sanctions, which take some time to take effect.
A senior U.S. official said U.S. officials were working on a new sanctions package against Russia before Navalny's death and added to it after the opposition leader's death. He added that U.S. officials had coordinated the new package with European partners.
Portal first reported the number of sanctioned targets.
This story has been updated with additional details.