US government set to impose more sanctions on Russia over alleged role in election ‘interference’ & 2020 SolarWinds hack – report

After completing an intelligence review of alleged Russian hostile actions against the US, which supposedly include interference in elections and hacking of government websites, the White House will impose new sanctions on Moscow.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which revealed that Washington may target those deemed to be close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and may even kick out supposed intelligence officers working in the US with diplomatic cover.

A new set of sanctions would be the latest in a series of measures imposed on Russia since Biden became US head of state. They would also be the first actions to based on a review of Moscow’s alleged misdeeds, ordered by the newly-inaugurated president on January 21.

As well as investigating interference in elections, it was aimed at discovering what Washington believes to be the truth behind the 2020 SolarWinds hack, the alleged poisoning of activist Alexey Navalny, as well as reports of Russia putting bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan.

The most recent sanctions against Russia were announced by the US on March 2. The measures were imposed on Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, prison service head Alexander Kalashnikov, Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin and National Guard boss Viktor Zolotov, among others.

Last month, in an interview with ABC News, Biden said Putin would “pay a price” for interfering in his country's presidential election.

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Biden says ‘killer’ Putin will ‘pay a price’ for alleged US election meddling, as Russia insists claims just pretext for sanctions

Despite numerous accusations, the Kremlin has denied any involvement in cyberattacks, and has rejected the notion that Moscow tried to interfere in American elections. In December, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov slammed the hacking accusations as “blind Russophobia.”

According to Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Moscow will retaliate If more Russians are sanctioned.

“It goes without saying that we will respond to any unfriendly steps. So far, I have not seen any specific decisions, nothing has been announced,” Lavrov said.

Since Biden’s inauguration in January, the relationship between Russia and the US has grown increasingly hostile. However, despite disagreements, Washington and Moscow have managed to make progress in some areas, including nuclear arms control and cooperation in space.

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