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Washington, D.C.- House Foreign Affairs Lead Republican Michael McCaul released the following statement in response to the Biden Administration’s announcement today on the designation of nine Russian individuals and two Russian entities, the latter which had already been sanctioned previously, for their involvement in the poisoning of leading Russian opposition and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny one year ago. The Department of State also imposed a second round of sanctions on Russia under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act (CBW Act), including restrictions on the imports of certain Russian firearms and ammunition.

“Today’s actions will fail to deter the Putin regime from using chemical weapons against his opponents, full stop. I’m deeply disappointed with the second round of mandatory sanctions imposed under the CBW Act that were over two months late. Simply put, these are the least impactful possible use of the menu of options provided by that law. Moreover, it is far past time Putin’s corrupt cronies, who Mr. Navalny has dedicated his life to exposing, are sanctioned so they cannot spend their ill-gotten gains stolen from the Russian people here in the United States. Mark my words: the Biden Administration’s continued weakness in the face of Russia’s malign and aggressive behavior will only invite more brazen acts.”

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