Russians sanctioned in Navalny poisoning

The Biden administration on Tuesday announced punitive sanctions on senior Russian government figures over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and reiterated a demand that Navalny be released from detention.

The sanctions block access to financial or other assets in the United States for seven top figures around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

They are largely symbolic but represent the first Biden administration action against Russia.

Navalny was poisoned in August 2020. He recovered in Germany but was jailed upon his return to Moscow in January. He was sentenced to more than two years behind bars on what human rights advocates call manufactured charges.