US to slap sanctions on Russia for election meddling and hacking

The sanctions will affect more than 30 Russian entities and will include expelling more than 10 Russians from the US.

Vladimir Putin ‘probably directed’ Russia’s influence operation to sway the vote in the 2020 US election. Picture: AFP

The sanctions will affect more than 30 Russian entities and will include expelling more than 10 Russians from the US, including diplomats, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

The diplomats will be targeted as punishment over allegations, denied by Russia, that it offered to pay militants in Afghanistan to kill American military personnel. The executive order will also expand an existing ban on US banks trading in Russian government debt.

Washington is also set to formally accuse Russian intelligence of carrying out the SolarWinds hack that targeted more than 100 US companies and 18,000 government and private computer networks.

The president of Microsoft, one of the companies targeted, has said the sophistication and scale of the SolarWinds attack was on a level not previously seen. Russia has denied carrying out the attack. Together with Britain, Australia, Canada and the EU, the US will also sanction eight individuals and entities over the occupation of Crimea.

The sanctions come at a difficult time for US-Russia relations. US President Joe Biden and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone call on Tuesday in which they agreed to “continue dialogue”, after Mr Biden last month described Mr Putin as a “killer” who would “pay a price” for election meddling. US intelligence has said Mr Putin and senior officials “were aware of and probably directed” Russia’s influence operation to sway the vote in the 2020 election in favour of Donald Trump.

AFP