AP, Washington :
President Barack Obama has imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia’s interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.
The State Department also has kicked out 35 Russian diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in San Francisco, giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the U.S. The diplomats were declared persona non grata for acting in a “manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status.” Obama said Russians will no longer have access to two Russian government-owned compounds in the United States, in Maryland and in New York. Russian officials have denied the Obama administration’s accusation that the Russian government was trying to influence the U.S. presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia’s goal was to help Donald Trump win – an assessment Trump has dismissed as ridiculous.
Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies believe that this year Russia mounted an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the American electoral process in an effort to undermine American democracy and ensure the election of Kremlin-friendly Donald Trump.
On Thursday, the Obama administration announced an equally unprecedented effort to punish Moscow with sanctions for its past hacking – and serve notice that future meddling will draw an even harsher response.
The move, which is far more sweeping than the
punishments leveled against North Korea or China for other state-sponsored hacking efforts, is going to make it significantly harder for Trump to start his tenure in the White House with an immediate effort to improve ties with Vladimir Putin. The sanctions take aim at two of Russia’s major intelligence agencies – the FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, and the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency – which are accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee’s servers and the email account of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta to steal and then release information damaging to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Many of Clinton’s supporters believe that Obama should have released information about the Russia hacking earlier so that she would have had time to respond and highlight Moscow’s apparent desire to boost Trump’s chances.
Obama also targeted individuals that allegedly played a leadership role in ordering the cyberattacks: Igor Valentinovich Korobov, the current chief of the GRU; Sergey Aleksandrovich Gizunov, deputy of the GRU; Igor Olegovich Kostyukov, a first deputy chief of the GRU; and Vladimir Stepanovich Alexseyev, also a first deputy chief of the GRU. There will also be sanctions against three Russian companies that the administration believes aided the cyberattacks. Two individuals who are accused of hacking into e-commerce companies and stealing millions from American financial institutions will be targeted as well. In his statement, Obama also hinted that there was more to come, likely in the form of unannounced cyber warfare. Still, it seems doubtful that the new measures will frighten Putin into changing his behavior. Some lawmakers had pressed Obama to embarrass the Russian leader by releasing details of the tens of billions of dollars that he and his closest allies are believed to have squirreled away in a labyrinth of offshore bank accounts, but the White House didn’t do so. It’s also enormously doubtful that the GRU officials targeted by the sanctions keep any assets in US banks or would want to travel here anytime soon. In a separate – but clearly related – statement, the Obama administration ordered 35 Russian diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours, which it says is a response to the harassment of US diplomatic personnel in Russia. It also said that as of noon on Friday, Russians would be denied access to Russian government-owned compounds in Maryland and New York that they use for “intelligence-related purposes.” In a statement on the sanctions, Obama said that “all Americans should be alarmed,” and made it clear that he believes the hacks were nothing less than a direct order from the Kremlin. “These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government,” he said. Russia scoffed at Obama’s accusation and promised retribution for any actions that Obama takes.
“If Washington takes new hostile steps, it will receive an answer. This applies to any actions against Russian diplomatic missions in the United States, which will immediately backfire at US diplomats in Russia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. According to the Associated Press, she added, for good measure, that the Obama White House is “not an administration, it’s a group of foreign policy losers, angry and ignorant.” In a statement in response to the announcement of the sanctions, Trump sounded nonchalant about the entire issue, saying, “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.
President Barack Obama has imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia’s interference in the U.S. presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.
The State Department also has kicked out 35 Russian diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in San Francisco, giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the U.S. The diplomats were declared persona non grata for acting in a “manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status.” Obama said Russians will no longer have access to two Russian government-owned compounds in the United States, in Maryland and in New York. Russian officials have denied the Obama administration’s accusation that the Russian government was trying to influence the U.S. presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia’s goal was to help Donald Trump win – an assessment Trump has dismissed as ridiculous.
Meanwhile, US intelligence agencies believe that this year Russia mounted an unprecedented attack on the integrity of the American electoral process in an effort to undermine American democracy and ensure the election of Kremlin-friendly Donald Trump.
On Thursday, the Obama administration announced an equally unprecedented effort to punish Moscow with sanctions for its past hacking – and serve notice that future meddling will draw an even harsher response.
The move, which is far more sweeping than the
punishments leveled against North Korea or China for other state-sponsored hacking efforts, is going to make it significantly harder for Trump to start his tenure in the White House with an immediate effort to improve ties with Vladimir Putin. The sanctions take aim at two of Russia’s major intelligence agencies – the FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet-era KGB, and the GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency – which are accused of hacking the Democratic National Committee’s servers and the email account of Clinton campaign chair John Podesta to steal and then release information damaging to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. Many of Clinton’s supporters believe that Obama should have released information about the Russia hacking earlier so that she would have had time to respond and highlight Moscow’s apparent desire to boost Trump’s chances.
Obama also targeted individuals that allegedly played a leadership role in ordering the cyberattacks: Igor Valentinovich Korobov, the current chief of the GRU; Sergey Aleksandrovich Gizunov, deputy of the GRU; Igor Olegovich Kostyukov, a first deputy chief of the GRU; and Vladimir Stepanovich Alexseyev, also a first deputy chief of the GRU. There will also be sanctions against three Russian companies that the administration believes aided the cyberattacks. Two individuals who are accused of hacking into e-commerce companies and stealing millions from American financial institutions will be targeted as well. In his statement, Obama also hinted that there was more to come, likely in the form of unannounced cyber warfare. Still, it seems doubtful that the new measures will frighten Putin into changing his behavior. Some lawmakers had pressed Obama to embarrass the Russian leader by releasing details of the tens of billions of dollars that he and his closest allies are believed to have squirreled away in a labyrinth of offshore bank accounts, but the White House didn’t do so. It’s also enormously doubtful that the GRU officials targeted by the sanctions keep any assets in US banks or would want to travel here anytime soon. In a separate – but clearly related – statement, the Obama administration ordered 35 Russian diplomats to leave the country within 72 hours, which it says is a response to the harassment of US diplomatic personnel in Russia. It also said that as of noon on Friday, Russians would be denied access to Russian government-owned compounds in Maryland and New York that they use for “intelligence-related purposes.” In a statement on the sanctions, Obama said that “all Americans should be alarmed,” and made it clear that he believes the hacks were nothing less than a direct order from the Kremlin. “These data theft and disclosure activities could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government,” he said. Russia scoffed at Obama’s accusation and promised retribution for any actions that Obama takes.
“If Washington takes new hostile steps, it will receive an answer. This applies to any actions against Russian diplomatic missions in the United States, which will immediately backfire at US diplomats in Russia,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. According to the Associated Press, she added, for good measure, that the Obama White House is “not an administration, it’s a group of foreign policy losers, angry and ignorant.” In a statement in response to the announcement of the sanctions, Trump sounded nonchalant about the entire issue, saying, “It’s time for our country to move on to bigger and better things.
