Biden reacts to Navalny's death: "If we don't support Ukraine, history will judge us"

Joe Biden has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to the US President, he was furious to learn of the death of the opposition leader who had fought so bravely against corruption and other evils in Russia.

"Even in prison, he was a voice of truth. It's incredible! He could have lived safely in exile after the assassination attempt in 2020, but he returned to Russia! He returned to Russia, knowing that he would be arrested, that he might even be killed! He continued his work because he deeply believed in his country, Russia," Joe Biden said.

There is no reason to distrust the information about Navalny's death, Biden said.

"We don't know all the details yet, but his death is undoubtedly the result of what Putin and his thugs did," he said.

"Don't be fooled – Putin is responsible for his death. It was Putin. This is further proof of Putin's brutality. Putin not only tries to kill citizens of other countries, as we see in Ukraine, he also commits heinous crimes against his own people," the US president said.

Biden described Navalny as a brave, principled and determined politician who wanted to build Russia as a state of law, where everyone would be equal before the law.

"He believed in this Russia. He understood that his idea was worth fighting for, worth dying for," Biden said. – "Navalny believed in freedom, in the rule of law, in Russia. He was protesting against Putin's war crimes, against his terrible war."

"History is watching us, the House of Representatives: if we do not support Ukraine, history will condemn us. We must not repeat the previous president and allow Russia to do whatever it wants," the American leader stressed.

In response to the question of whether sanctions against Russia would be extended, Biden said that his administration was considering possible measures.

Three years ago, Biden warned that "there will be devastating consequences for Russia if Navalny dies in prison".

Background. On 16 February, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District announced the death of Alexei Navalny. Immediately afterwards, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reported that the information had been "reported" to Putin. The 112 Telegram channel and the RT propaganda channel claimed that the ambulance crew that arrived at the scene, after half an hour of attempts to resuscitate Navalny, pronounced him dead due to a blood clot.

At the same time, resuscitation doctor, PhD Alexander Polupan, who was in Navalny's group of doctors in Omsk after the Novichok poisoning, points out that it is impossible to diagnose a blood clot on the spot, and the fact that this version was ready for the propaganda "raises questions".