US President Joe Biden joined other western leaders in slamming Russia over the death of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. A former lawyer, Navalny, 47, fell unconscious and died on Friday after a walk at the Polar Wolf Arctic penal colony where he was serving a 30-year sentence, authorities said.
The Federal Penitentiary Service of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District said in a statement that Navalny lost consciousness almost immediately the walk and died shortly afterwards, and added that resuscitation attempts failed.
Speaking at the White House, Biden said that no matter the cause, he holds Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for Navalny's death. He said the US had not confirmed Navalny's death in the Russian prison, but that he had no reason to doubt it either.
"We don't know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did," Biden said at the White House. "Russian authorities are going to tell their own story, but make no mistake. Make no mistake; Putin is responsible for Navalny's death."
Biden added that the Kremlin critic's death should spur the Congress to approve funds for Ukraine to thwart Moscow's invasion. "I hope to God it helps push US lawmakers to send more aid to Ukraine," he said. The House is yet to take up a Senate-passed bill that would send funds and armaments to Ukraine, whose troops, according to US officials, are running out of resources on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, at a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris for the signing of a France-Ukraine bilateral agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron said Navalny's death shows Russia's weakness and its fear of all opponents.
Kremlin critic's wife points finger at Putin
The wife of Alexei Navalny led calls for Putin to be held accountable for Navalny's death. Speaking at the three-day annual conference in Munich, attended by politicians, military officers and diplomats, Yulia Navalnaya said, "I thought for a long time if I should come out here or immediately fly to my children," after a standing ovation as she came on stage. "But then I thought what Alexei would do in my place. And I'm sure he would be here, he would be on this stage."
She said she did not know whether to believe Russian authorities. "But if this is true, I want Putin, his entire entourage, Putins friends, his government to know that they will bear responsibility for what they did to our country, to my family, to my husband."
The Kremlin said Putin had been informed of Navalny's death, but the Russian president is yet to say anything in public about his opponent's passing away. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the reaction of western leaders to the death was unacceptable and "absolutely rabid".
