Moscow.
Russia announced today that it will expel ten US diplomats and pass a series of sanctions in response to a similar decision taken the day before by USA because of Russian cyber espionage and interference in Ukraine.
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, “has approved these measures in response to the absolutely unkind and unnecessary acts that Washington has announced against Russia, our citizens, natural and legal persons and our financial system,” Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said at a news conference.
Lavrov announced that a “blacklist” will be published shortly, listing eight US officials with responsibility in United States government agencies. USA, which sanctioned senior Russian officials on Thursday.
Moscow will also limit and stop the activities of Russian foundations and non-governmental organizations that “openly” interfere in Russia’s internal affairs.
In addition, the Russian authorities will start the process to terminate the agreement governing mobility diplomats in the country to which they were sent to limit their movements outside Moscow.
Lavrov warned that if the current “exchange of pleasantries” continues, Moscow will ask Washington to reduce the number of diplomats on Russian territory from the current 450 to 300, in line with the Russian presence in the US.
I explained that Russia is reserved for the future “painful measuresfor the American business world.
As for the rest of the measures and the identities of the sanctioned senior US officials, he announced that they will be announced Friday today.
He also specified that the Kremlin He “recommended” the US Ambassador, John Sullivan, to return to his country for consultation with his superiors.
On Thursday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russia for its alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election and its alleged role in SolarWinds’ large-scale cyberattack, in addition to imposing penalties in connection with Russian actions in Ukraine and Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden’s administration also announced the expulsion from the United States of ten members of the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington, including members of the intelligence services.
In addition to the White House It formally accused Russia’s Foreign Espionage Service (SVR) of having “committed” the massive cyber-attack that allegedly started in 2019 and infiltrated the systems of the US government and large corporations through a program run by SolarWinds.
In total, the new sanctions in Washington affect 6 Russian companies for their cyber-espionage activities, 32 Russian organizations and individuals for interference in the elections, and 8 individuals and entities for the Russian occupation of Ukrainian Crimea.