A close ally of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny urged U.S. President Joe Biden to take punitive action against a wider group of associates of President Vladimir Putin, saying current sanctions aren¡¯t sufficient to stop the Kremlin from cracking down on political opponents and violating human rights.
¡°Existing sanctions don¡¯t reach enough of the right people,¡± Vladimir Ashurkov wrote in a letter to Biden posted on his Facebook page on Saturday. He listed 35 people, including billionaires Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov, senior staffers of Putin¡¯s administration, and the heads of several state companies who Navalny says should be targeted.
¡°Anything less will fail to make the regime change its behavior,¡± Ashurkov wrote. ¡°The West must sanction the decision makers who have made it national policy to rig elections, steal from the budget, and poison.¡± Navalny and his allies also want the U.S. to sanction those who hold their money.
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