The US is about to impose sanctions on 12 individuals and 20 entities and expel 10 Russian diplomats amid escalating tensions between the two countries, the New York Times news agency quoted sources familiar with.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden.
The sanctions are part of the US government’s response to Russia’s election meddling in the US and the launch of the SolarWinds cyber attack last December, according to the New York Times.
Sources say that among the Russian citizens that the US is preparing to impose sanctions are both government officials and intelligence services.
The Wall Street Journal also cited sources as saying that US President Joe Biden would issue a decree extending a ban on US banks from conducting transactions related to Russia’s national debt.
Earlier in January, the US Agency for Cyber Security and Infrastructure (CISA) issued a joint statement by the FBI and several other agencies, under which Russia is likely to be behind the attack. Large-scale networks targeted at customers of the computer security firm SolarWinds.
According to Washington, the goal of the attack was to gather intelligence. However, it was later reported that the attackers did not gain access to sensitive information.
In mid-March, US intelligence released a new report, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of directing the Russian government’s influence campaigns to reduce the likelihood of Democratic candidate Joe Biden’s victory in elections in 2020 and deepening political divisions in America.
Advisor to US President Joe Biden on national security Jake Sullivan recently stated that in response to this attack the White House is ready to use a variety of methods, not only sanctions but also “tangible and intangible” tools.
The New York Times also wrote that the US is planning to carry out “secret counterattacks” on Russian systems.
The Kremlin rated the allegations as “completely unfounded” and said that this was just an excuse for the new sanctions. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia did not interfere in the US election and was not involved in cyber attacks.
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