President Joe Biden, still in town after several days of big-money fundraising with California's wealthiest Democrats, met with the widow and daughter of Alexei Navalny in San Francisco, and posted a photo of the meeting.
"Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya – Aleksey Navalny's loved ones – to express my condolences for their devastating loss," Biden said in a tweeted statement on the POTUS account on X. "Aleksey's legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights."
Navalny died in a Russian prison last week, and Biden has already stated publicly that Vladimir Putin was responsible for the death. Navalny had previously survived an assassination attempt in August 2020, in which he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok while on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow.
Dasha Navalnaya, 23, is currently attending Stanford, and Navalny's widow Yulia put out a statement Monday saying that she intended to continue her late husband's work in opposing the Russian regime.
Today, I met with Yulia and Dasha Navalnaya – Aleksey Navalny's loved ones – to express my condolences for their devastating loss.
— President Biden (@POTUS) February 22, 2024
Aleksey's legacy of courage will live on in Yulia and Dasha, and the countless people across Russia fighting for democracy and human rights. pic.twitter.com/aiCcgTrws3
In her statement, Yulia Navalnaya said, "In killing Alexei, Putin killed half of me, half of my heart and half of my soul. But I have another half left — and it is telling me I have no right to give up."
Navalnaya now lives in an undisclosed location abroad. She last appeared publicly in California when she attended the Academy Awards in 2023, as the filmmakers were accepting an award for Best Documentary Feature for the film Navalny.
Director Daniel Roher said in his acceptance speech, "I would like to dedicate this award to Navalny, to all political prisoners around the world. Alexei, the world has not forgotten your vital message to us all. We cannot, we must not be afraid to oppose dictators and authoritarianism wherever it rears its head."
After Thursday's meeting, Putin told reporters, "We are going to announce sanctions against Putin, who is responsible for [Navalny's] death, tomorrow. We are not letting up."
As the Guardian reports, Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland said these sanctions will target individuals believed responsible for Navalny's death, but will also close gaps in existing sanctions against "Putin's war machine."
Top photo via POTUS/X
