US President Joe Biden is "considering additional sanctions" on Moscow after the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in an Arctic prison, he said Monday.
"We already have sanctions, but we are considering additional sanctions, yes," said Biden, who has already directly blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin and his "thugs" for Navalny's death last week, speaking to journalists in Washington.
Biden and other Western allies have already used unprecedented sanctions as a way of throttling support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, while at the same time supplying Kyiv with both weapons and aid.
But Russia has withstood the initial shock and put its economy on a war footing, ramping up production and recruitment and jailing critics of the invasion.
Meanwhile doubts have been growing over Washington's future commitment to Ukraine. With existing US funding already dried up, former president Donald Trump's allies in the House of Representatives have been stalling $60 billion in new military aid.
Trump, the likely Republican nominee in the November presidential election, opposes helping Kyiv and recently used his sway to kill a US border reform bill that would have also authorized additional aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine's troops are outnumbered and exhausted, while Europe cannot ramp up weapons supplies fast enough without the United States, underscoring the urgency of getting more funding to Kyiv.
Biden slammed Republicans again Monday over the failure to pass the aid package.
"The way they're walking away from the threat of Russia, the way they're walking away from NATO, the way they're walking away from meeting our obligations, it's just shocking," he said.
But he said he would be happy to meet with Mike Johnson, Speaker of the Republican-led House of Representatives, who has told reporters he has no intention of even allowing a vote on the package.
"Sure, I'd be happy to meet with him, if he has anything to say," Biden said.
He added that he hoped that Navalny's death would make a difference when it came to passing the aid, but "I'm not sure."
Analysts have warned Putin may be biding his time, waiting -- and hoping -- for Trump to be reelected, which could reduce support for Kyiv.
Trump had stayed silent for days over the death of Navalny, in the face of growing criticism.
Then on Monday he posted on his Truth Social website that the "sudden death" of the opposition leader had made him "more and more aware of what is happening" -- in the United States.
"It is a slow, steady progression, with crooked, radical left politicians, prosecutors and judges leading us down a path to destruction," he wrote.
The post did not mention the Russian government or Putin.
Sweden summons Russia ambassador, calls for 'sanctions' after Navalny death
Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said he summoned Russia's ambassador on Monday to hand over a protest over the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Billstrom also called, in a statement, for the European Union to consider "a new sanctions regime targeting the internal repression in Russia."
Navalny team says investigators to hold his body for 'at least two weeks'
Russian investigators will keep Alexei Navalny's body for "at least two weeks" to examine the corpse, his spokesperson said Monday, describing it as a ploy by the authorities.
Russia reported Navalny's death on Friday and his mother has been denied access to the body, enraging supporters who have accused authorities of trying to cover up Navalny's "murder".
"Investigators told Alexei's mother and lawyers that they are not handing over the body and in the next 14 days they will conduct a chemical analysis, an investigation," Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarymsh said in a YouTube broadcast.
"For at least two weeks they will do some kind of inspection," she said.
"I'll say it again: Navalny's body is being hidden to hide the traces of the murder. This 14-day 'chemical analysis' is an outright lie and mockery," she said in a subsequent statement on social media site X, the former Twitter.
Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, flew to the Arctic prison colony where her son was being held on Saturday, but has been blocked from accessing the morgue where she was told his body was.
Earlier Monday, the Kremlin said an investigation into Navalny's death was ongoing and that there were "no results" as of yet.
President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin would not decide what happens to the body or when it is released.
Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, said on Monday: "Putin killed my husband."
The opposition leader's spokesperson said she expected authorities to hold Navalny's body beyond the 14-day period.
Yarymsh and Navalnaya drew comparisons with what happened in 2020, when Navalny fell seriously ill while on a flight to Moscow, and doctors tried to block him being evacuated to Europe for specialist treatment.
Navalnaya eventually secured his release, taking her husband on a medical plane to Germany where tests revealed he had been poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent.