(UnitedVoice.com) – February 24 marked the second anniversary of the Russian war on Ukraine. The somber date came just over a week after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison. The US marked the anniversary of the war by levying hundreds of additional sanctions on Moscow.
New Sanctions Against Russian Military Complex
On February 23, President Joe Biden issued a statement announcing more than 500 new sanctions against Russia for the war and Navalny’s death. The sanctions are targeting the Kremlin’s “financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks, and sanctions evaders” across the world, including individuals and entities in China and Serbia. Drone manufacturers and the state-owned operator of the Mir National Payment System are among the entities being targeted by the administration.
The president applauded the Ukrainian people for their “tremendous courage” as they continue to fight back against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression. He pointed out that they are currently running out of ammunition. He said the US House of Representatives must pass the bipartisan national security bill that the Senate already passed. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has refused to bring the legislation to the floor for a vote.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued his own statement, saying, “The scale of Putin’s blunder is especially stark today.” He said the Russian military has failed to defeat the Ukrainian government and hasn’t been able to “crush the will of the Ukrainian people.”
In addition to the 500+ sanctions, the administration issued more than 100 targeting entities that have been providing covert support for the Russian war machine. There are also visa restrictions for Russian authorities who were involved in the confinement and kidnapping of Ukrainian kids.
Navalny Sanctions
The administration issued sanctions against Russia for the death of Navalny, as well. The opposition leader was imprisoned after he survived a poisoning that was allegedly carried out at Putin’s request. He died in custody, and his family spent days searching for his remains. The Russian government finally turned his body over to them eight days after his February 16 death.
The sanctions target three individuals the administration says were connected to Navalny’s incarceration and death. Those officials include the deputy director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, who Putin promoted to the rank of colonel general three days after Navalny’s death. Neither he nor the other two will be allowed to travel to the US or buy property in America.
Biden said that if Putin doesn’t “pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going.”
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