Under the headline "New U.S. Sanctions on Russia: Details and Reasons," Sky News Arabia reported on the U.S. sanctions against Russia. The site noted that the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on dozens of Russian individuals and entities today, Thursday, due to interference in the U.S. presidential elections, attempts at cyber espionage, and Moscow's role in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden signed a new executive order regarding Russia, which is set to expand the range of sanctions imposed on the country.
The White House stated that the sanctions were implemented in response to the actions of the Russian government and its intelligence agencies against the sovereignty of the United States and its interests. It added: "This includes, in particular, efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners, engaging in and facilitating harmful cyber activities against the United States and its allies and partners, fostering and using transnational corruption to influence foreign governments, pursuing activities beyond national borders that target dissidents or journalists, undermining security in countries and regions significant to U.S. national security, and violating established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states."
**Sanctions**
According to the new executive order, the following measures have been enacted:
- The Treasury Department issued guidance prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from participating in the primary market for ruble or non-ruble-denominated bonds issued after June 14, 2021, by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Russian National Wealth Fund, or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, and from lending rubles or non-ruble-denominated funds to these entities.
- This guidance gives the U.S. government authority to expand sanctions on sovereign debt from Russia as necessary.
- The Treasury classified six Russian technology companies that support the electronic services program of Russian intelligence, ranging from providing expertise to developing tools and infrastructure and facilitating harmful cyber activities.
- The Treasury imposed sanctions on 32 entities and individuals who executed attempts directed by the Russian government to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election, among other disinformation and interference efforts.
- The Treasury, in partnership with the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada, sanctioned eight individuals and entities "linked to ongoing Russian occupation and repression in Crimea."
- The United States expelled ten individuals from the Russian diplomatic mission in Washington, including representatives from Russian intelligence.
- The U.S. officially designated the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpetrator of the extensive cyber espionage campaign in 2020, which exploited the SolarWinds platform to compromise federal agencies in the U.S.
