ByREUTERS
Updated:

European Union foreign ministers agreed on Monday to impose sanctions on people and organizations that bear responsibility for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

The ministers' decision came the day after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide re-election victory that Western governments condemned as unfair and undemocratic, while China, India, and North Korea offered congratulations.

27 EU member states agree to sanctions

FILE PHOTO: European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, holds a virtual news conference on the approval of Operation Irini, at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium March 31, 2020
FILE PHOTO: European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell, holds a virtual news conference on the approval of Operation Irini, at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium March 31, 2020 (credit: REUTERS/FRANCOIS LENOIR/FILE PHOTO)

After a meeting in Brussels, Borrell said ministers from the EU's 27 member states agreed to sanction "about 30 individuals and entities" - which he did not identify - that were "responsible for the murder of Alexei Navalny."

Russian authorities say Navalny, Putin's most prominent critic, died on Feb. 16 in an Arctic prison of natural causes.

Navalny's wife, Yulia Navalnaya, has accused Putin of having him killed. Western leaders have said Putin and the Russian state are ultimately responsible for his death.