Biden condemns 'Putin and his thugs' for Navalny's death

President Biden on Friday personally blamed Russian President Vladimir V. Putin for the reported death of imprisoned Russian dissident Aleksei A. Navalny, and cited the case to pressure Republicans of the House of Representatives to approve military aid. to Ukraine in its war with Moscow.

But if he once threatened to impose “devastating” consequences on Mr. Putin if Mr. Navalny died In prison, the president admitted there was little more he could do after sanctions and other measures taken over the past two years in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">“Make no mistake: Putin is responsible for Navalny’s death,” Mr. Biden said in a televised statement from the White House. “Putin is responsible. What happened to Navalny is further proof of Putin's brutality. No one should be fooled, neither in Russia, nor here, nor anywhere in the world. The United States did not fully understand the circumstances. "The answer is that we don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that Navalny's death was a consequence of something Putin and his thugs did."

Mr Navalny's death came at a delicate moment in America's confrontation with Russia over its aggression in Europe and repression at home. House Republicans are blocking $60.1 billion in military aid to Ukraine at the request of former President Donald J. Trump, who himself boasted that he would "encourage" Russia to attack NATO allies who do not spend enough on their armed forces.

Mr. Biden seeks to make the case for American leadership in the world and reassure European allies that the United States still supports them. He sent Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to the Munich Security Conference in Germany this week to defuse fears of a U.S. withdrawal. But the mood in Munich was grim even before the announcement of Mr Navalny's death. American participants said that wherever they went, they were besieged by distraught Europeans.

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