US and allies imposed sanctions on Russian institution and officials

The United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on Russia at the same time. Washington issued sanctions against seven high-ranking Russians for poisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny; an American intelligence report states that the Russian government is responsible for the poisoning.

“Intelligence has confidently established that officers of the Russian security service FSB used the neurotoxin novichok to poison Navalny on August 20, 2020,” says an employee of the US government.

The sanctions were imposed in agreement with the European Union. The EU announced similar measures against the Russian attorney general, the head of the investigative committee which is investigating major criminal cases, the head of the prison system and the head of the National Guard, for prosecuting opposition leader Navalny and suppressing protests.

Two of them are also on the US sanctions list. The other five Russians facing US punitive measures are two deputy defense ministers, the chief of the FSB, the head of the Policy Department of President Putin and former prime minister Sergey Kirienko. In addition, the FSB and a number of scientific institutes have been added to the list.

Navalny has been transferred to the region of Vladimir, where he served a sentence of 2.5 years in a penal colony. Navalny was arrested in Russia after recovering from his poisoning in Germany. As a result, he was unable to comply with probation obligations of a previous criminal case. He still has to serve his suspended sentence.