Joe Biden (source Lapresse)
Biden continues with hostilities towards Vladimir Putin. The American administration has announced a series of retaliatory measures against Russia, which include sanctions and expulsions of diplomats, in response to the alleged electoral interference from Moscow, to the widespread cyber attack campaign in the country and other activities.
The actions, studied for months by US President Joe Biden, and his team of senior national security officials, are a reaction to “Russia’s full range of harmful foreign activities,” the White House said. more significant punitive measures against Moscow in years. The administration has imposed, in detail, sanctions against 32 entities and individuals for the Russian government’s direct attempts to influence the 2020 elections and claimed, for the first time, that he had “high confidence” that Russian intelligence has undertaken the massive attack on SolarWinds against the US government and the computer systems of some US companies.
The Treasury Department also issued a directive that prohibits US financial institutions from buying bonds denominated in rubles on the primary market or not in rubles issued after June 14, 2021 by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. And then forbidden to lend denominated funds in rubles or not in rubles to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Ten Russian diplomats were also expelled from the Embassy in Washington, according to the order.
A senior administration official said the United States has “a low to moderate level of confidence” about allegations that Russia has offered to pay bounties to militants in Afghanistan to kill US soldiers, partly due to the difficulty of gathering information in the country. The official said the bounty charge did not lead to any specific action. “Today the Biden administration is taking action to impose costs on Russia for the actions of its government and intelligence services against US sovereignty and interests”, the White House said, adding that “this executive order sends a signal that the United States will impose strategic and economic costs on Russia if it continues to pursue or intensify its destabilizing international actions “.
The Biden administration also formally accused Russia’s foreign intelligence service, the SVR, of carrying out the so-called SolarWinds attack against the US government and the computer systems of some US companies, with a massive spying campaign that officials say could take years to fully investigate. Hinting that the US would take covert or cyber actions in response to Russian actions, a senior administration official said there are some US steps that “will remain invisible.”
The sanctions follow the escalation of tensions between Western allies and Russia as Moscow is mobilizing its own troops on the border with Ukraine in numbers unheard of since the invasion of Crimea in 2014 and comes from Russia’s inability to take warnings of election interference and other allegedly malicious cyber activities seriously sponsored by the Kremlin. Washington’s decision to impose new sanctions on Russia has been condemned by senior Kremlin officials and supporters who insist that Moscow’s response will be tough and reciprocal.
“Such aggressive behavior will undoubtedly receive a decisive refusal and the response to sanctions will be inevitable “, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told reporters, adding that “Washington must realize that the worsening of bilateral relations will come at a cost. The responsibility for what is happening lies entirely with the United States of America” . Zakharova said that the foreign ministry has summoned the US ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, and will later share the results of that conversation, “which will be difficult for the American side”. President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to report US complaints about cyber attacks, electoral interference and Moscow’s activities in Ukraine.
According to a senior administration official, the president told Putin that the United States would respond to SolarWinds’ cyber intrusion and interference in the 2020 election. “We have made it clear to the Russian government that we believe that these responses are proportionate and measured “the official said, adding that “we believe we can do more”. The White House said Biden has also asked the Russian counterpart to meet in the coming months, to address some of the issues face to face, although Russia has yet to accept the invitation to the summit and is likely to respond to today’s actions. United States.