The United States on Thursday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia to punish it for election interference, cyber-hacking, bullying Ukraine and other “malign” acts.
This report produced by Zachary Goelman.
U.S. hits Moscow with array of sanctions
The United States on Thursday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia meant to punish Moscow for alleged interference in U.S. elections, cyber-hacking, bullying Ukraine and other "malign" acts.
Among the actions, President Joe Biden authorized the U.S. government to sanction any sector of the Russian economy.
The White House said it was expelling 10 Russian diplomats in Washington D.C., and for the first time formally named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as the perpetrator of the SolarWinds hack that penetrated U.S. government networks.
The U.S. Treasury also blacklisted 32 entities and individuals which it linked to government-directed "acts of disinformation and interference" to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The United States' NATO allies voiced their support Thursday for the sanctions, condemning Moscow over what it called a “destabilizing” build-up of Russian troops along Ukraine's border.
The sanctions come days after Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin, and suggested the two leaders meet to discuss points of contention.
Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday said it would respond in the near future to U.S. sanctions.
"The response to the sanctions will be unavoidable.
Washington must realise that they have to pay for the deterioration of bilateral relations.
The United States of America is fully responsible for what is happening." Ahead of the U.S. announcement, the Kremlin said the punitive measures lessened the chances of a possible summit between the nations’ leaders.
Russia denies meddling in U.S. elections and orchestrating the SolarWinds hack.