EU agrees to sanction 30 Russians over Navalny death

EU countries on Monday agreed to impose sanctions on 30 Russian officials over the death of leading Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny last month, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

"We agreed to sanctions on those responsible for the murder of Alexei Navalny," Borrell said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers, reports BSS/AFP.

Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, died in an Arctic prison in February where he was being held in harsh conditions.

Officials have said the European Union would follow the United States and Britain in imposing travel bans and asset freezes on prison officials responsible for Navalny's treatment.

The names of those sanctioned by the EU are set to be released after the measures are formally adopted in the coming days.

Navalny's allies have said the limited targeting of a small number of prison officials is purely symbolic and will have no impact on the Kremlin.

The agreement to sanction those responsible for Navalny's death comes after Russian leader Vladimir Putin claimed a new six-year term in elections denounced by the West as unfair.

"We can see these are fake elections, that there isn't freedom of expression," Borrell said.

But the EU stopped short of heeding a call by Navalny's widow to explicitly reject Putin as the legitimate leader of Russia.