US and Britain sanction Russians for Alexei Navalny poisoning
- The seven FSB officers targeted are accused of planning or carrying out the nerve agent attack on the Kremlin critic a year ago
- Angela Merkel asks Putin to free Navalny, who was jailed after returning to Russia from Germany
Britain and the United States sanctioned several Russian officials and entities on the first anniversary Friday of the near-fatal poisoning of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which the West blames on Moscow.
Separately, Washington blacklisted two unnamed Russians and a vessel for their involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.
The individuals covered by the joint sanctions are all members of Russia’s domestic security service the FSB, successor to the KGB, and accused of planning or carrying out the August 20, 2020 nerve agent attack on Navalny.
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Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny arrested and detained upon return to Russia after near-fatal poisoning
They now face asset freezes and travel bans under the second round of reprisals in which Britain targeted seven individuals for involvement in the poisoning, after blacklisting six individuals and one entity in October 2020.
In Moscow, the foreign ministry condemned what it called “unilateral, illegitmate” sanctions.
“Russia has called several times on Britain and its partners to back up the accusation with evidence,” said ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the Telegram social network. “But Britain and its partners continue to ignore these calls.”
The United States and European Union also imposed a round of their own sanctions in March.