The US on Thursday announced tough new sanctions targeting the Russian economy, its officials and entities for “the full scope of… harmful foreign activities” including election interference, cyber-spying, misinformation campaigns and a range of “destabilising international actions” such as in Afghanistan and Crimea.
America also ordered the expulsion of 10 diplomats from the Russian mission in Washington, DC, calling them “representatives of Russian intelligence services”.
Russia responded sharply to the sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called them illegal and warned of retaliatory measures. “We condemn any sanction aspirations. We believe they are illegal. In any case, the principle of reciprocity applies in this case. Reciprocity will meet our interests in the best possible way,” he said.
US President Joe Biden issued these sanctions and punitive measures through a new executive order “that provides strengthened authorities to demonstrate the administration’s resolve in responding to and deterring the full scope of Russia’s harmful foreign activities”, according to a note issued by the White House.
These measures are intended, the note added, to send “a signal that the US will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia if it continues or escalates its destabilising international actions”.
Under the authority of the executive order, US treasury has prohibited American financial institutions from trading in Ruble or non-Ruble bonds issued by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other Russian institutions after 2014.
{{/usCountry}}Under the authority of the executive order, US treasury has prohibited American financial institutions from trading in Ruble or non-Ruble bonds issued by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and other Russian institutions after 2014.
{{/usCountry}}It designated six tech companies charging them with providing support to Russian Intelligence Services’ cyber programme. Among these cyber actions was the SolarWinds hacking of 16,000 computer systems around the world that, the US has said, were carried out by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, also known as APT 29, Cozy Bear, and The Dukes.
US treasury also designated 32 entities and individuals, including a top official in the president’s office first deputy chief of staff Alexei Gromov, for “government-directed attempts to influence” the 2020 presidential election.
Biden had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of these upcoming measures in a phone call on Tuesday.