Biden expels ten Russian diplomats and imposes new sanctions | Abroad

The Russian diplomats who are expelled from the country are mainly located in Washington DC and New York. They are given thirty days to leave the country, sources say. In total, 32 companies, organizations and individuals are punished with sanctions. The sanctions are seen as heavier and more extensive than previous measures.

Cyber ​​attack

Biden has been hinting at measures against Russia for some time. In a telephone conversation between the two, Biden mentioned the cyber attack, but also the poisoning and imprisonment of the Russian opposition leader Navalny. The US has already imposed sanctions for this.

It is the first time that the US explicitly blames the Russian intelligence services for the so-called Solarwinds cyber hack. In that cyber attack, hackers managed to gain access to the systems of at least nine US ministries and government agencies, where they could also get into the emails of high-ranking officials. There were also digital burglaries at dozens of large companies.

Influence campaign

US intelligence services are also convinced that President Putin himself authorized an influence campaign in the run-up to last year’s presidential election. Putin would have liked to help Trump to get reelected. According to the Americans, there is no evidence that Russia has changed votes or manipulated the results.

The American sanctions come at a time when Russia is engaged in a major troop build-up on the border with Ukraine and in the Crimea. Biden wants to discuss this with Putin.

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