US to announce new sanctions on Russia related to death of Navalny The US will announce a major package of sanctions on Friday aimed at Russia over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it was announced moments ago. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby made the statement on Tuesday, Reuters reports. The package will: Hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny” and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, Kirby said, without providing details on the sanctions measures. It’s coming very close to two years since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the US announcement will be made on the eve of that anniversary. Closing summary It’s 10.20pm in Moscow, 7.20pm in London and 2.20pm in New York, and we’re closing our Ukraine live blog coverage now. Thanks for joining us. Here’s what we were following today: Joe Biden says the United States will unveil on Friday a major package of sanctions against Russia to hold it accountable for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The US president’s national security adviser said the measures will target Russia’s “defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the economy”. The European Union summoned the summoned the Russian charge d’affaires in Brussels Kirill Logvinov to demand an independent and transparent investigation into Navalny’s death. Also on Tuesday, Italy, Poland and Slovenia summoned Russia’s ambassadors, following similar moves on Monday by numerous other European countries. Lyudmila Navalnaya, Navalny’s mother, has demanded that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, hand over her son’s body. “Vladimir Putin … let me finally see my son,” Navalnaya said in a video message. The safety account for the social media platform X said that the account of Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, was suspended earlier today after its “platform’s defence mechanism against manipulation and spam” mistakenly flagged it as being in violation of its rules. EU demands transparency on Navalny death from chief Russian diplomat The European Union said on Tuesday it had summoned the Russian charge d’affaires in Brussels over the death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Separately, three more countries announce they were also summoning Russia’s ambassadors: Italy, Poland and Slovenia. The EU’s managing director for Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia, Michael Siebert, called for an independent and transparent investigation into the death of Navalny during his meeting with Kirill Logvinov, chief diplomat of Russia’s mission to the EU, according to a statement issued by the union: The EU side conveyed EU’s outrage over the death of the Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, for which the ultimate responsibility lies with President Putin and the Russian authorities. [We urge] Russia to release his body to his family without further delay and allow the family to organize a funeral. On Monday, France, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands said they had summoned diplomats from Russian embassies. Joe Biden has confirmed his administration will announce on Friday full details of a major new raft of sanctions that will be imposed on Russia following the death of Alexei Navalny. The US president spoke briefly to reporters in the grounds of the White House as he left just now for a fundraising appearance in California. He refused to expand on what would be in the measures. Reuters, citing national security adviser Jake Sullivan, said the package would target Russia’s “defense industrial base and sources of revenue for the economy”, but no other details were forthcoming. Earlier, John Kirby, the administration’s strategic communications coordinator for the national security council, said the sanctions would “hold Russia responsible for what happened to Mr Navalny”. Here are some images sent to us over the news wires on Tuesday relating to Alexei Navalny’s death, Russia, and the war in Ukraine: Ukraine is seeking a military coalition with at least 20 new countries to help supply drones, cooperate on technology, and strengthen its military, Reuters reports. Deputy Defense minister Kateryna Chernohorenko told a media briefing that eight countries had so far signed up to the joint initiative launched by Ukraine, Latvia and the UK. “We think that eight countries is only the beginning. We want more countries to join” Chernohorenko said. Drones have become a crucial part of tactics for surveillance and striking targets for both sides in the Ukraine-Russia war, because of their relatively low cost. Ukraine has ramped up its domestic drone production significantly over the past year. Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said the objective was to send more drones to the front lines than Russia. “The enemy is moving on, it has a powerful industrial base. Yes, we are catching up somewhere... we will do everything to improve this parity and overtake them.” The White House says it’s looking into reports that a dual US-Russian citizen has been arrested in Russia for treason. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Russia’s federal security service (FSB) had taken into custody a 33-year-old woman who lives in Los Angeles. She is accused of donating to a US-based organization that raises money for weapons and other equipment for Ukraine’s military. The woman was not named. John Kirby, strategic communications coordinator for the national security council, told reporters in Washington DC on Tuesday that the White House “is aware of and seeking information about” the woman, Reuters reported, identifying her as a ballerina. The Times said the treason charge stemmed from a $50 donation she is alleged to have made to Razom for Ukraine, a New York-based nonprofit that it said sends financial assistance to the country. She was arrested in Yekaterinburg in central Russia, according to the FSB. If convicted, she faces 20 years in prison. News of the arrest came the same day as a Russian court rejected a complaint by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich about the extension of his pre-trial detention in Moscow until 30 March on spying charges, which he denies. The wife of Ukrainian-Russian businessman German Khan lost a legal challenge in London on Tuesday against UK sanctions imposed on her two years ago, Reuters reports. The ruling, the agency says, underlines the high legal hurdle for relatives and allies of those similarly targeted for links to Russian president Vladmir Putin’s regime. Anzhelika Khan was sanctioned in April 2022, a month after her husband, who co-founded investment group LetterOne and whose net worth is estimated at $8.4bn (£6.65bn) by Forbes magazine. She argued she had no involvement in Russian politics and held no influence over the Russian government, meaning it was unlawful to subject her to sanctions. High court judge Sara Cockerill dismissed her case in a written ruling, saying the sanctions were capable of serving the purpose of “sending a signal to Ms Khan and via her to the government of Russia and the international community… that the UK does not accept acts which destabilize the Ukraine”. The Court of Appeal is due to rule next week on a case brought by Eugene Shvidler, a billionaire ally of Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, in the first substantive appellate test of British sanctions imposed following Russia’s Ukraine invasion. Italy’s deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, once an outspoken admirer of Russian president Vladimir Putin, landed himself in hot water Tuesday with a comment on the death of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Agence France-Presse writes. The head of the anti-immigrant League party, said it was “up to Russian doctors and judges” to determine the cause of Navalny’s death. Asked about Salvini’s remark, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said EU member states had adopted a joint declaration attributing responsibility for Navalny’s death “to President Putin and the Russian authorities”. It is a declaration approved by Italy,” Borrell said. He advised that: Members of governments to simply read what their governments approve and adopt.” The League signed a co-operation deal with Putin’s ruling party in 2017, deepening their ties. There is a little more detail on the announcement from the White House that the US will announce new Russia sanctions on Friday, in response to the death of Alexei Navalny. The Agence France-Presse news agency reports: At President Biden’s direction, we will be announcing a major sanctions package on Friday of this week to hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday. Russia last Friday announced the death of Navalny, a persistent critic of Russian president Vladimir Putin, who survived a 2020 poisoning and died at a remote prison in the Arctic where the anti-corruption campaigner was serving a 19-year sentence. Whatever story the Russian government decides to tell the world, it’s clear President Putin and his government are responsible. Absent some credible investigation into his death, it’s hard to get to a point where we can just take the Russians’ word for it. We’re calling for complete transparency by the Russian government for how he died,” Kirby said. He added that the sanctions on Russia were for: All its actions over the course of this vicious and brutal war that has now raged on for two years. US to announce new sanctions on Russia related to death of Navalny The US will announce a major package of sanctions on Friday aimed at Russia over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, it was announced moments ago. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby made the statement on Tuesday, Reuters reports. The package will: Hold Russia accountable for what happened to Mr Navalny” and for its actions over the course of the war in Ukraine, Kirby said, without providing details on the sanctions measures. It’s coming very close to two years since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 and the US announcement will be made on the eve of that anniversary. Russia denies US claims that Moscow plans nuclear weapons in space Russian president Vladimir Putin said that he was against the deployment of nuclear weapons in space and his defence minister flatly denied any plans for such a deployment. The United States has told the US Congress and allies in Europe about new intelligence related to Russian nuclear capabilities that could pose an international threat, Reuters reports. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that US claims about Russian intentions were aimed at scaring US lawmakers into allocating more funds to spend on countering Russia. Putin said Russia’s activities in space did not differ from those of other countries, including the US. Last week, the Guardian reported, the White House confirmed that it is monitoring a new Russian anti-satellite weapon which it said is being developed but not yet deployed – calling it “troubling” but not an immediate threat to anyone’s safety. Russian president Vladimir Putin said that Russian troops should develop their success on the battlefield in Ukraine after the fall of Avdiivka. He said Ukrainian troops were forced to flee the devastated city in chaos, Reuters reports. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian offensive was continuing and troops were moving westwards. Shoigu said Russian forces had taken control of the village of Krynky in the Kherson region. The Guardian’s Angela Giuffrida adds in this report that Russia earlier said it has taken full control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, its biggest gain since capturing Bakhmut last May. Russian troops launched multiple attacks further west from Avdiivka in a bid for further battlefield gains, a Ukrainian army spokesperson said on Sunday. Summary of the day so far... Poland’s foreign ministry has summoned Russia’s ambassador, saying it “called on Russian authorities to take responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny and conduct a full and transparent investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of his death.” On Monday, France, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands said they had summoned diplomats from Russian embassies. Lyudmila Navalnaya, Alexei Navalny’s mother, has demanded that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, hand over her son’s body. “Vladimir Putin … let me finally see my son,” Navalnaya said in a video message. The safety account for the social media platform X said that Yulia Navalnaya’s account was suspended earlier today after its “platform’s defence mechanism against manipulation and spam” mistakenly flagged it as being in violation of its rules. Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said her country has broken up a hybrid operation by Russia’s security services. The Internal Security Services (ISS) and the prosecutor’s office said they had arrested 10 people they believed were acting for Russia in connection with attacks on ministers and a journalist’s cars. Ukraine’s prime minister, Denys Shmygal, has described Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country as an “existential war” during a visit to Tokyo. “So we can’t speak about fatigue, because it’s an existential war – you can’t be fatigued when you’re fighting for your future, for your life … for global security order,” he said. A Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Sumy region hit a residential building on Tuesday, killing five people, authorities said. Protests from Polish farmers on Tuesday marked an escalation from previous demonstrations, with a near-total blockade of all Ukrainian border crossings and disruption at ports and on roads nationwide. A Russian court has rejected a complaint by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich about the extension of his pre-trial detention until 30 March on spying charges, which he denies, the court’s press service said. Russia’s foreign intelligence chief said that a Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine and was found shot dead in Spain last week was a “moral corpse” when he planned his defection, Russian news agencies reported. Russia’s FSB security services said it had arrested a US-Russian woman suspected of treason for raising funds for the Ukrainian army. The FSB in the central Urals city of Ekaterinburg said it had “suppressed the illegal activities” of a 33-year-old woman, a resident of Los Angeles with dual citizenship, and taken her into custody. Sweden will donate military aid to Ukraine worth about 7.1 billion Swedish crowns (£541m), the country’s largest contribution to date, the country’s defence ministry said. It will be Sweden’s 15th round of aid for Ukraine, taking the overall aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to about 30 billion crowns (£2.3bn). Poland summons Russian ambassador Poland’s foreign ministry has summoned Russia’s ambassador. In a statement, Poland’s foreign ministry said it “called on Russian authorities to take responsibility for the death of Alexei Navalny and conduct a full and transparent investigation to determine the circumstances and cause of his death.” “The authorities of the Russian Federation demonstrate a complete rejection of moral norms not only in the context of dealing with domestic civil society, but also in the ongoing war against Ukraine,” the Polish ministry said. Also on Tuesday, Slovenia said it had summoned a Russian envoy to the ministry in Ljubljana, urging Moscow to release all political prisoners. On Monday, France, Finland, Germany, Lithuania, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands said they had summoned diplomats from Russian embassies. Many western countries have unanimously blamed the Russian authorities for the death of Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader who had been serving a 19-year prison sentence at a remote prison in the Arctic. My colleagues Luke Harding and Lisa O’Carroll have more on the escalation of Poland’s bitter dispute with Ukraine over farm imports that has seen blockades taking place at several border crossings with Ukraine: In the UK, a Home Office minister said he wants the visa process to be “light touch” and “easy as possible” for Ukrainians, despite the government’s announcement that it will close the Ukraine family scheme on Monday. Tom Pursglove told the House of Commons that Ukrainians will continue to be offered sanctuary in the UK and any suggestion otherwise is “deliberate scaremongering,” PA Media reports. MPs criticised the move by the Home Office, stating it is “particularly cruel” to announce the end of the scheme as the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion approaches. The decision to close the Ukraine family scheme, which allowed applicants to join family members or extend their stay in the UK, was announced among a series of changes to immigration rules set out in a policy document. The document also confirmed a visa extension scheme, which meant Ukrainian nationals and their immediate relatives could apply for permission to remain in the country, will close on 16 May. X social network says Yulia Navalnaya"s account was suspended because of technical error The safety account for the social media platform X has said that Yulia Navalnaya’s account was suspended earlier today after its “platform’s defence mechanism against manipulation and spam” mistakenly flagged it as being in violation of its rules. “We unsuspended the account as soon as we became aware of the error,” it said. X on Tuesday briefly blocked Navalnaya’s account, just one day after she created it after the death of her husband, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The @Yulia-Navalnaya account page was accessible again, about 50 minutes after it was suspended without explanation. Navalnaya, 47, has accused the Russian authorities of murdering her husband, hiding his body and waiting for traces of the nerve agent novichok to disappear from it. Russian hybrid attack in Estonia foiled, prime minister says Estonia’s prime minister, Kaja Kallas, said her country has broken up a hybrid operation by Russia’s security services. The Internal Security Services (ISS) and the prosecutor’s office said they had arrested 10 people they believed were acting for Russia in connection with attacks on ministers and a journalist’s cars. “We know the Kremlin is targeting all of our democratic societies,” Kallas said in a post on social media X. The ISS director general Margo Pollson said the aim of the hybrid operation was to sow fear and tension and undermine civil society. “There was a plan to attack specific individuals’ vehicles yet, which we foiled. This is a new method of influence. In our assessment, Russia did not achieve its objective,” she said. Some of those detained were recruited in Russia, others were recruited through social media with a fee that “was not significant and certainly not worth the risk”. The foreign ministry will summon Russia’s top diplomat in Estonia. “It is a clear example of Russia trying to weaken and undermine the unity of the west. Estonia takes the situation very seriously and we are doing our utmost to stop any action against our state,” Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said on Tuesday. Last week, Moscow put Kallas, who has been leading efforts to increase military assistance to Kyiv and tighten sanctions against Russia, and other Baltic states officials on a wanted list. Russia said the Estonian state secretary, Taimar Peterkop, the Lithuanian culture minister, Simonas Kairys, and Kallas were accused of “destroying monuments to Soviet soldiers”. Another jailed member of Russia’s opposition has said that he fears for his life after the death of Alexei Navalny. In a letter from prison, opposition member Ilya Yashin wrote that he had only learned of Navalny’s death on Monday. “It’s hard to convey my shock,” wrote Yashin, who had known Navalny for more than a decade. “It’s hard to collect my thoughts. The pain and horror are unbearable.” Yashin was sentenced to prison for eight years for publishing reports about the Russian military’s commission of war crimes in Bucha in 2022. He told the Guardian in letters from prison that he believed that Vladimir Putin had gone “mad from power”. On Tuesday, he compared Navalny’s death with that of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was gunned down near the Kremlin walls. “Now both my friends are dead,” he said. “I feel a black emptiness inside. And, of course, I understand my own risks. I am behind bars, my life is in Putin’s hands, and it is in danger. But I will continue to push my line.” He said he was sure that Putin had ordered the murder of Navalny behind bars. X restores access to Yulia Navalnaya"s account X has restored access to Yulia Navalnaya’s account. There still appears no explanation for the temporary suspension. The top post on her account is the video of Alexei Navalny’s mother demanding the return of her son’s body.