US President Joe Biden on Friday said he was “not surprised, but outraged” by the reported death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and laid the blame squarely on President Vladimir Putin.
“He bravely stood up to the corruption, the violence and all the bad things the Putin government was doing,” Mr Biden said from the White House.
“Russian authorities are going to tell their own story. Make no mistake … Putin is responsible for Navalny's death.”
He added that the White House was working on getting further information about Mr Navalny's death.
Mr Navalny, 47, was a popular political rival and a critic of Mr Putin and his regime.
He fell ill after a walk at the Arctic prison colony where he was serving a 19-year term, the federal penitentiary service said.
“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,” Mr Biden said.
The development is likely to worsen US relations with the Kremlin, which took a major hit after Russia's invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
Alexei Navalny – in pictures
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Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died, Russia's federal penitentiary service has announced. Reuters -
Mr Navalny listens to a verdict against him, at IK-6 penal colony in Melekhovo, east of Moscow, in August 2023. AFP -
Mr Navalny on video link from prison, during court hearings in June 2023. AFP -
A 2021 mural of Mr Navalny in Saint Petersburg is painted over. AFP -
Mr Navalny makes a heart shape towards his wife, Yulia, from inside a glass box in a Moscow court, after being sentenced in 2021. AFP -
Protesters march in support of Mr Navalny in downtown Moscow, in 2021. AFP -
Mr Navalny addresses a crowd at a protest in Moscow, in 2019. AP -
Mr Navalny with his wife Yulia, daughter Daria and son Zakhar, in Moscow in 2019. AP -
Mr Navalny shakes hands with his daughter Daria before casting his ballot in 2019 elections in Moscow. Reuters -
Mr Navalny addresses supporters at a rally against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, in 2018. AFP -
Mr Navalny prepares for an interview with The Associated Press in Moscow, in 2017. AP -
Mr Navalny handcuffed in court in Moscow, in 2017. AP -
Police detain Mr Navalny at an anti-corruption rally in Moscow, in 2017. AFP -
Mr Navalny heads to attend a meeting at Russia's Central Election Commission in Moscow, in 2017. AP -
Mr Navalny with his wife Yulia after a rally in Moscow, in 2013. AP -
Police detain Mr Navalny at a rally in Lubyanka Square in Moscow, in 2012. AP
It also comes at a time when Mr Biden, who is running for re-election, has been urging Republican leaders in the US Congress to pass a bill that includes $60 billion in additional military funding for Ukraine.
“The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten. It's going to go down in the pages of history,” Mr Biden said.
But many of his Republican rivals are aligned with Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.
Last week, Mr Trump appeared to give tacit encouragement to Russia to invade any Nato country that was not meeting its commitment of spending 2 per cent of gross domestic product on defence.
“This is an outrageous thing for a President to say,” Mr Biden said. “I can't fathom.
“Putin and the whole world should know if any adversary were to attack us, our Nato allies would back us and if Putin were to attack a Nato ally, the United States will defend every inch of Nato territory.”
Vladimir Putin tells US journalist defeating Russia is impossible – video
Article Five of the Nato treaty stipulates that an attack against one member nation is considered an attack on all.
During his time as president from 2017-2021, Mr Trump repeatedly complained about Nato and how many members were not paying the required 2 per cent. He said that many nations were taking advantage of US military power.
On Thursday, the White House said that Russia was developing a space-based anti-satellite capability that had not yet been deployed.
Mr Biden said the satellite poses no threat to Americans or anyone else in the world.
“There is no evidence that they have made a decision to go forward with doing anything in space either,” he said.
