Alexei Navalny dies in prison

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I fear historians will look back to the 2020's and call it the Age of the Strong Man.

i'm reminded of that meme about how good times bring about weak men, how weak men bring about bad times, how bad times bring about strong but bad men, how bad men bring about good times, etc.

President Joe Biden on Friday announced more than 500 new sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine and the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny last week in prison — the largest tranche since the conflict began, the administration said.

Biden said the sanctions would target those connected to Navalny’s imprisonment, as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across several continents.

“They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home," Biden said in a statement about the sanctions. He noted the action is timed with the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. is also imposing export restrictions on almost 100 entities that support Russia’s military efforts and taking action to reduce Russia's energy revenues, Biden said.

"I’ve directed my team to strengthen support for civil society, independent media, and those who fight for democracy around the world," he added.

Biden emphasized the need for Congress to pass the Senate foreign aid package, saying Ukraine is "running out of ammunition." Ukraine needs more supplies from the U.S. to "hold the line against Russia's relentless attacks," which are enabled by ammunition and arms from Iran and North Korea, the president said.

"That’s why the House of Representatives must pass the bipartisan national security supplemental bill, before it’s too late," Biden said.

The Treasury Department said in a release detailing the sanctions that its Office of Foreign Assets Control is targeting almost 300 individuals and entities; combined with actions by the State Department, the administration's moves bring the total number of targets sanctioned to more than 500 — the largest number of sanctions imposed on Russia since it invaded Ukraine, the release said.

Treasury also noted that the State Department is designating three Russian government officials in connection with Navalny's death, but didn't identify them. The Department of Commerce, meanwhile, is placing trade restrictions on more than 90 companies.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters Thursday night that the sanctions aim to do two things: "One is reducing Russia’s revenues; the second is making sure that Russia can’t get access to the goods they need to build the weapons they want for their war.”

Adeyemo said previous U.S. sanctions have been successful, reducing the country's oil revenues by 40% and causing Russia to struggle to access goods it needs to build weapons.

"Fundamentally, our strategy does not only pertain to slowing down Russia’s ability to build the weapons they want, it also includes speeding up the Ukrainians' ability to defend themselves by providing them with weapons and resources to build their economy," Adeyemo said.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn’t directly order the killing of Alexei Navalny at a remote penal colony in February, according to three sources familiar with the matter. But the precise circumstances of the opposition leader’s death at the Arctic prison remain unclear.

The assessment does not absolve Putin of ultimate responsibility for Navalny’s fate, only that the Russian president likely did not call for his killing at that time, the sources said. By sending Navalny to the notorious high-security penal colony in a remote town above the Arctic Circle, the Kremlin had effectively imposed a death sentence on the opposition leader, the sources said.

The findings reflected a broad consensus across different intelligence agencies, the sources said.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the intelligence community’s assessment.