The EU agreed on March 18 to level new sanctions against Russia over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, said Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat.
Bloomberg reported earlier in March that the EU was readying a new package targeting around 30 individuals in response to Navalny's death in February. Borrell told reporters ahead of a meeting with the EU's Foreign Affairs Council that the package was being adopted.
Navalny, Russian President Vladimir Putin's main political opponent, died in a penal colony in the town of Kharp, Yamal Nenets Autonomous District. He had been convicted in several fabricated criminal cases as part of the Kremlin's crackdown on dissent.
Several countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia, have imposed new sanctions against Russia over Navalny's death.
Navalny was detained in Russia in January 2021 and was later sent to prison on two separate sentences, one for nine years and another for 19, in trial proceedings described by human rights groups as a "sham."
Leaders around the world pointed at Putin as to blame for Navalny's death. It remains unclear whether the harsh prison conditions caused his death or if he was intentionally murdered.
Kateryna Hodunova
