Alexei Navalny poisoning leads US to sanction Putin allies in Russia

WASHINGTON – The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Russia Tuesday in response to the poisoning and continued detention of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the first of several steps the Biden administration plans to take to confront Russian aggression.The U.S. sanctioned seven senior members of the Russian government and added 14 entities to the Department of Commerce's blacklist, mirroring sanctions imposed earlier by the European Union and the United Kingdom for the attempted murder of Navalny. More:'Diplomacy is back': Biden promises to restore ties with allies in dramatic foreign policy shiftOfficials added that they anticipate more sanctions against Russia for the SolarWinds cyberattack that "will be announced sooner rather than later." Duke University professor Simon Miles, an expert on Russia and the Soviet Union, said while the latest sanctions sends "the right signal," the Biden administration will need to steer relations with Moscow in a "more productive direction" as the Russian economy and those individuals named can adjust and adapt to sanctions leveled against them."With overlapping interests with the Kremlin in, for example, nuclear arms control, but at odds over other issues such as the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, the Biden White House will need to be creative in using both carrots and sticks to manage the U.S.-Russia relationship in the future," he said.