Calls to relieve Ukrainian troops as war nears two-year mark
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The Biden administration will impose a fresh slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in response to opposition figure Alexey Navalny’s death and just one day before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion. One US official called the sanctions the “largest single tranche since the start of Putin’s further invasion of Ukraine.”
Navalny’s mother said she saw the body of her son in a Siberian morgue but is being threatened by investigators into agreeing to a secret funeral for him. Additionally, the Russian Investigative Committee set a series of conditions to release the body to the mother, a Navalny foundation spokesperson said, noting that Navalny’s mother was threatened into agreeing to these conditions.
Meanwhile in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces say they hit a “training ground” for Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnipro River, near the key bridgehead of Krynky in the southern part of the country.
More sanctions against Putin are coming, Biden says. Here's what you should know
From CNN staff
US President Joe Biden and Russian President Russian President Vladimir Putin
Getty Images/FILE
The Biden Administration announced the latest slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets, in what a Treasury Department spokesperson called the “largest single tranche since the start of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s further invasion of Ukraine.” The sanctions will be imposed Friday, the official said.
The sanctions were in response to Alexey Navalny’s death and comes just one day before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
One day before sanctions announcement, President Joe Biden met with Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco, California. The president expressed his condolences to the family, as well as his “admiration” for Navalny’s “extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption,” according to a readout from the White House.
Here are other headlines you should know:
More sanctions: The US Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping set of criminal and civil enforcement actions targeting sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others accused of working to support the Kremlin and its military. US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby previewed further sanctions against Iran in the coming days and said, “we are prepared to go further if Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia.”
Navalny’s widow: Alexey Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, reiterated that she believes Putin killed her husband and urged the media not to be diverted by Russian government narratives.
Navalny’s mother: Navalny’s mother said she has been shown her son’s medical report, which stated his cause of death was due to natural causes. Lyudmila Navalnaya said she was also shown her son’s body in the Russian town of Salekhard where investigators were “threatening” her into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, or “they will do something with my son’s body.” But a Kremlin spokesperson declined to comment on her claim. The Russian Investigative Committee set more conditions to release Navalny’s body to his mother, said Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, during an interview with independent Russian journalist Alexander Plyushchev on Thursday. The wife of an imprisoned human rights advocate said said this all shows that Russian authorities are afraid of Navalny even after this death.
Developments on the ground: At least one person has been killed and nine injured as a result of Russian shelling at the eastern Ukrainian village Kostiantynopolske, according to the head of the Donetsk region military administration. Elsewhere, nine people were injured Thursday in a Russian attack on a power plant in the Ukrainian city of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
Military aid and support: Belarus and Russia will hold joint military exercises on Belarusian territory in 2025, the Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said. Also, Denmark unveiled a new $247.4 million (1.7 billion Krone) Ukraine military aid package Thursday as well as a 10-year Danish security commitment to Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris on Monday, the Elysée said in a statement Thursday. And Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa said the country will no longer send military equipment to the United States after discovering the weapons would be handed over to Ukraine to battle Russia.
Mental health issues: The war in Ukraine has had devastating consequences for children’s mental health, as those living in frontline areas have been forced to spend between 3,000 and 5,000 hours — the equivalent of four to almost seven months — sheltering in basements and underground metro stations, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement Thursday.
Russian authorities are afraid of Navalny even after his death, Kremlin critic's wife says
From CNN’s Mariya Knight
Flowers lie at a makeshift memorial for Alexey Navalny in Vilnius, Lithuania, on February 16.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
The refusal of Russian authorities to release Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother shows they are afraid of the opposition leader even after his death, according to Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza.
Evgenia Kara-Murza, also said she is concerned about Navalny’s mother’s safety.
“Anyone who challenges the regime and the regime decisions in any way is in danger,” she said.
Kara-Murza said the only way she gets to hear her husband’s voice is when he gets to speak during rare court hearings. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine
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Biden will impose sanctions on more than 500 targets in response to Navalny death, official says
From CNN's Sam Fossum, Priscilla Alvarez and Kevin Liptak
The Biden administration will impose a fresh slate of sanctions on more than 500 targets on Friday in response to the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny and on the eve of Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine, according to a Treasury official.
The sanctions will come from both the US Treasury and the State Department, the spokesperson said.
The sanctions mark the latest move by the administration to levy consequences against Russia amid heightened tensions between the two countries.
Speaking Tuesday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the new measures would be a “substantial package” that covers a wide range of elements linked to the Russian defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the Russian economy that power the country’s “war machine.”
Sullivan described the package as “another turn of the crank” after withering Western sanctions on Moscow since the start of the Ukraine war. While those sanctions have hampered Russia’s economy, they haven’t deterred Putin from proceeding with the invasion.
US officials had been working on a new sanctions package on Russia ahead of Navalny’s death and supplemented them in the wake of the opposition leader’s death, according to a senior US official, adding that US officials coordinated with European partners on the new package.
Reuters first reported the number of targets sanctioned.
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Russian Investigative Committee sets more conditions to release Navalny’s body to family, Navalny foundation says
From CNN’s Mariya Knight in Atlanta
The Russian Investigative Committee set more conditions to release Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother, said Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, during an interview with independent Russian journalist Alexander Plyushchev on Thursday.
Aside from conducting a secret funeral “among the family,” the committee said they require the following three conditions:
The body should be transported to Moscow on a special plane, and before arriving in the capital, Navalny’s mother should not announce the funeral in order for the crowd not to meet the body in the airport.
The family must be accompanied by an employee of the investigative committee at all times before the funeral.
Navalny’s mother should decide on the date of the funeral after arriving in Moscow. The body should be kept in the Moscow or Vladimir region before the funeral. According to Zhdanov, the investigative committee “is afraid that the morgue will be stormed.”
The death certificate will be given to Navalny’s family once they agree to meet the above conditions, according to Zhdanov.
Navalny’s mother was first denied the cemetery of her choice, and then both parties agreed to hold the funeral at Khovanskoye cemetery in Moscow, Zhdanov said, adding that the parties haven’t agreed on the farewell hall. Navalny’s mother was threatened into agreeing to these conditions, Zhdanov said.
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US will impose sanctions directly against Putin for Navalny death, Biden says
From CNN’s Nikki Carvajal and Kevin Liptak
US President Joe Biden speaks to the media in San Francisco on Thursday.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
US President Joe Biden said Thursday he would impose sanctions directly on Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, who he said was “responsible” for the death of dissident Alexey Navalny.
Biden made the announcement in San Francisco shortly after meeting with Navalny’s widow and daughter.
Biden said it was clear from the meeting that Navalny’s wife would “continue to fight.”
“We’re not letting up,” he said.
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France will host international Ukraine aid meeting next week
From CNN’s Xiaofei Xu in Paris
French President Emmanuel Macron will host a meeting in support of Ukraine in Paris on Monday, the Elysée said in a statement Thursday.
The announcement comes shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited France and thanked the country for the $3.2 billion (3 billion euros) in aid that Paris pledged to Kyiv for 2024.
Ukraine has been pleading for more military aid, including ammunitions, following the fall of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv claims the fall would not have happened had more aid been delivered in time.
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Biden’s comment on Putin "can’t be resolved with simple apology," Russian ambassador to the US says
From CNN's Mariya Knight and Katharina Krebs
The Russian Ambassador to the United States said President Joe Biden’s recent comment calling Russian President Vladimir Putin “a crazy SOB” can’t be resolved “with simple apology.”
The Russian Embassy sent “a strong note of protest” to the US State Department “about the outrageous nature and unacceptability of insults made by the American leadership against the Russian President.”
Antonov said the Biden administration “continues to destroy the remnants of the positive legacy of Russian-American relations” and “the inappropriate rhetoric of the American authorities only testifies to the impotence and lack of common sense in the current policy towards Russia.”
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Blinken says Putin's efforts to "poison and imprison" Navalny showcase Russia's weakness
From CNN's Haley Britzky and Jennifer Hansler
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Thursday.
Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s efforts to “persecute, poison, and imprison” Alexey Navalny showcases his country’s weakness under Putin’s leadership.
He also said “many” of the countries in the G20 Foreign Ministerial meeting in Rio de Janeiro voiced support over the ”imperative of ending the Russian aggression” in Ukraine.
In his remarks at a session Wednesday, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended, Blinken denounced Russia as “the world’s leading exporter of instability.”
Blinken also said additional sanctions against Russia are “forthcoming,” echoing US President Joe Biden who said earlier this week there would be a “major package announced on Friday.”
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US Department of Justice announces sweeping criminal and civil actions against sanctioned Russian oligarchs
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz
The US Justice Department on Thursday announced a sweeping set of criminal and civil enforcement actions targeting sanctioned Russian oligarchs and others accused of working to support the Kremlin and its military.
The announcement, made by the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, comes days before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The task force — made up of federal prosecutors, investigators, and analysts — has targeted the web of wealth surrounding Russian oligarchs and Kremlin insiders. In the two years since Russia’s invasion, the task force has brought about 70 criminal cases against individuals and five criminal cases against corporate entities. More than a dozen of those charged have been arrested worldwide, department officials said.
The task force has also moved to seize about $700 million worth of assets, which Justice Department officials said they hope to ultimately transfer to Ukraine or use in aid. While the bulk of that money is still in the process of being forfeited, department officials said, about $6 million has been transferred to Ukraine thus far.
As the Justice Department works to enforce existing sanctions, the White House is also set to announce a new sanctions package against Russia on Friday, CNN has reported. The sanctions are aimed to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for Russia’s war in Ukraine — which hits the 2-year mark on Saturday — and for the death of opposition figure Alexey Navalny, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.
Putin is "capitalizing" on congressional inaction on Ukraine, White House says
From CNN’s Sam Fossum
The White House has warned about “deepening” military ties between Russia and Iran that are helping provide material to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, also previewing further sanctions against Iran in the coming days.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby lashed Republicans in the House of Representatives for not passing additional military aid to Ukraine as the Senate’s bipartisan foreign aid package remains stalled in the House. Since Congress left Washington, DC, at the end of last week on recess, the White House has steadily kept up political pressure on the GOP over aid to Ukraine as Kyiv faces critical ammunition shortages and cedes some ground to Russia.
Kirby added that the US has been closely monitoring whether Iran has provided ballistic missiles to the Russians. White House officials have previously warned about these active negotiations. He also previewed further sanctions against Iran in the coming days and said, “we are prepared to go further if Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia.”
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Biden lauds "extraordinary courage" of Navalny in meeting with late opposition leader's wife and daughter
From CNN’s Kevin Liptak and Samantha Waldenberg
In a photo released by The White House on Thursday, President Joe Biden is seen meeting with Aleksey Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco California.
From The White House
US President Joe Biden met with Alexey Navalny’s wife and daughter, Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya, in San Francisco, California, on Thursday.
The president expressed his condolences to the family, as well as his “admiration” for Navalny’s “extraordinary courage and his legacy of fighting against corruption,” according to a readout from the White House.
The Biden administration is expected to announce “major new sanctions” against Russia on Friday in response to Navalny’s death and the ongoing war in Ukraine, the readout said.
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Ukrainian novelist tells CNN new bookstore in Kyiv is a unifying "sign of resistance"
From CNN's CNN’s Christiane Amanpour and Maddie Araujo
In the heart of Kyiv’s city center, the “Sens” bookstore opened to the public just days ago — an ambitious endeavor at a time of war.
Workers are busy stocking bookshelves and putting the finishing touches across three large floors. Visitors have been streaming in since day one.
As Ukraine prepares to mark two years since Russia’s invasion, Kurkov is concerned about the situation on the front line, “especially after the fall of Avdiivka because obviously we don’t have enough military aid.” Despite this, he said, “we are here feeling safe, knowing that there is no guarantee of safety, of course.”
When asked what message he would send to the people of Russia, Kurkov reflects before he answers. He then tells CNN he would ask citizens to be introspective and ask themselves whether they are “living in (the) 21st century or they are still living in Stalin’s gulag?”
CNN also spoke to radio host Natalka Makurchak in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, on how she is trying to help listeners cope despite the abnormal circumstances they find themselves in. The city is just 24 miles (about 38 kilometers) away from Russia and is shelled regularly.
She told CNN she is not ashamed to admit on her radio show when she is scared, as people understand that feeling.
CNN’s Mark Phillips, Olha Konovalova, Daria Tarasova and Oleksyi Markin contributed to this report.
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White House calls on Russia to give Navalny's remains to his mother
From CNN’s Samantha Waldenberg
US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters Thursday that the Russians need to hand over Alexey Navalny’s body to his mother.
Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, said Thursday that she was shown her son’s body on Wednesday in the Russian town of Salekhard and signed his death certificate.
Speaking on Navalny’s YouTube channel, Navalnaya said Russian authorities claimed they knew his cause of death and had “all the medical and legal documents.” Navalnaya also claimed in the video that investigators were “threatening” her into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, or “they will do something with my son’s body.”
Kirby said that he could not confirm the reports of blackmail from Navalny’s mother.
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Medical report shown to Navalny's mother stated he died from natural causes, Navalny spokesperson says
From CNN's Anna Chernova
Flowers lie at a makeshift memorial for Alexey Navalny in Vilnius, Lithuania, on February 16.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Alexey Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, was shown her son’s medical report, which stated that his cause of death was due to natural causes, the Russian opposition figure’s spokesperson said.
“The medical report on death shown to the mother of Alexey Navalny stated that the causes of death were natural,” Kira Yarmysh posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
Remember: Navalny was detained and sent to a Russian prison in 2021 after he had returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering from Novichok poisoning he blamed on the Russian government. The Kremlin repeatedly denied any involvement. A subsequent Bellingcat-CNN investigation found that an elite team in Russia’s FSB security service, made up of about six to 10 agents, had trailed Navalny for more than three years. One of those agents revealed in a sting that the lethal nerve agent Novichok had been planted in the activist’s underpants.
Concerns mounted over his health in early April 2023, as his team reported that he was experiencing severe stomach issues and had lost weight.
On Friday, the Russian prison service said Navalny “felt unwell after a walk” and “almost immediately” lost consciousness. It said it was investigating his “sudden death.” Labytnang City Hospital told Russian state-run media RIA Novosti that it was trying to resuscitate Navalny for more than half an hour.
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Analysis: Europe is facing difficult questions as Ukraine approaches 2 years of war with Russia
That thought is not new, but is increasingly echoed privately in some corners of officialdom. It also reflects several current grim truths.
Money desperately needed from the United States is stuck, having passed the Senate but awaiting House approval. Unity between the European Union and NATO is starting to fray, with nearly every big decision held up and threatened with veto.
Between there being no end to the conflict in sight, and competition for political attention in the Middle East — as well as domestic concerns from inflation-led cost-of-living crises around the world — spending huge sums on Ukraine could become politically harder to stomach for governments.
At least 1 killed and 9 injured in Russian shelling in Donetsk region village
From CNN's Maria Kostenko
At least one person has been killed and nine injured as a result of Russian shelling at a village located in the eastern Donetsk region, according to Vadym Filashkin, the head of Donetsk region military administration.
Thirteen shells hit the eastern Ukrainian village of Kostiantynopolske, where four teenagers age 12 to 16 years old were among the injured, Filashkin said Thursday in a statement on Telegram.
“We are currently inspecting the area and establishing the exact consequences of the shelling,” Filashkin said.
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Kremlin declines to comment on Navalny's mother saying authorities are pressuring her to hold secretive burial
From CNN's Sahar Akbarzai, Mari Kostenko and Matthew Chance
A Kremlin spokesperson declined to comment on the mother of Alexey Navalny claiming that authorities are pressuring her into holding a secretive burial for her son, who was a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Unfortunately, I have not seen her words so I cannot comment on that,” Dmitry Peskov told CNN, adding that the Kremlin is “dealing with different issues which are of great importance for our country.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the United States’ reaction to Navalny’s death as “hysteria.”
“The US acts as the prosecutors, as the judge, and as the punisher all in one, and this hysteria regarding the death of Navalny is a prime example of that,” he said Thursday at a news conference at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “These people have no rights to interfere in our home affairs, especially given their own problems.”
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Denmark announces more than $247 million for Ukraine in new military aid package
From CNN's Antonia Mortensen in Rome and Lauren Kent and Caitlin Danaher in London
Denmark unveiled a new $247.4 million (1.7 billion Krone) Ukraine military aid package on Thursday and also announced a 10-year Danish security commitment to Ukraine.
She also noted that other European countries have provided similar commitments, saying it is a “strong and unambiguous signal to Putin that the international community is fully behind Ukraine — even for the long term.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Denmark for the package and for swift agreements between the two countries.
Denmark also announced Thursday it is working to prepare Ukraine to receive the first Danish donation of F-16 fighter jets this summer.
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Navalny's mother says authorities have shown her his body but are pressuring her into holding secretive burial
From CNN's Seb Shukla and Anna Chernova
In a screen grab from a video posted on Alexey Navalny's YouTube page, his mother Lyudmila Navalnaya is seen speaking.
From Alexey Navalny/YouTube
Alexey Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, says she has been shown her son’s body in the Russian town of Salekhard.
Speaking on Navalny’s YouTube channel, Navalnaya said Russian authorities claimed they knew his cause of death and had “all the medical and legal documents.”
She said that she was taken to the morgue to see his body on Wednesday and has signed his death certificate.
Navalnaya also claimed in the video that investigators were “threatening” her into agreeing to a secret funeral for her son, or “they will do something with my son’s body.”
Navalnaya said that the Russian Investigative Committee investigating her son’s death would like to bury his body “secretly without saying goodbye.”
Navalny’s mother says she does not want “special conditions,” but simply wants her son to be treated “according to the law.”
Navalny’s mother and his lawyer traveled to Salekhard on Saturday, where prison authorities had said the body of the opposition leader will be examined — but when they arrived at the morgue, they were told the body wasn’t there, Navalny’s team said.
