The Biden administration on Tuesday announced punitive sanctions on senior Russian government figures over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny and reiterated a demand that Navalny be released from detention.

The sanctions block access to financial or other assets in the United States for top figures around Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The sanctions are largely symbolic, but represent the first Biden administration action against Russia. U.S. officials who described the measures said they are a signal that the new administration will treat Russia differently than did the Trump administration.

Navalny recovered from the attack in Germany, but was jailed upon his return to Moscow earlier this year. He was sentenced to more than two years behind bars on what human rights advocates call manufactured charges.