April 16, 2021
President Joe Biden on Thursday declared that the United States faces a “national emergency” over an array of malign actions from Russia. In retaliation, Biden said he is imposing new sanctions on the Russian government and expelling ten Kremlin diplomats from the United States, Yahoo reports.
The moves are part of an intensifying U.S. campaign to punish Moscow over its attempted interference in the 2020 U.S. election, its occupation of Crimea, and other actions. They are sure to escalate already rising tensions between the two nations and are likely to be met with some Russian reprisal, including the expulsion of U.S. diplomats. The moves also come as Russia has amassed military forces near its border with Ukraine, alarming the international community.
The new penalties also follow a y conversation between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, April 13,, during which Biden proposed the two meet in a third country in the coming months.
Conversely, after four years of fealty toward Putin from former President Donald Trump, President Biden’s new sanctions are sure to be met with approval by many U.S. lawmakers from both parties, although some are likely to say they do not go far enough. For example, based on the information released by the Administration, there did not appear to be any penalties aimed at stopping the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, a step a number of Democrats and Republicans have urged.
In a statement, the White House characterized the administration’s actions as intended “to impose costs on Russia for actions by its government and intelligence services against U.S. sovereignty and interests.”
The Treasury Department‘s Office of Foreign Assets Control released information on several of the sanctions. The office said that it “took sweeping action against 16 entities and 16 individuals” who sought to influence the outcome of the election last November under orders from Russian government leaders.
With regard to Russia’s actions in Ukraine—where Putin still claims the Crimea region as its own—Yahoo reports that OFAC has“designated five individuals and three entities” for sanctions. OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement that the designations would “impose additional costs on Russia for its forceful integration with Crimea and highlight the abuses that have taken place under Russia’s attempted annexation.”
Finally, under the authority of a new executive order signed by Biden on April 15, the Treasury Department announced a series of punitive measures including “the implementation of new prohibitions on certain dealings in Russian sovereign debt, as well as targeted sanctions on technology companies that support the Russian Intelligence Services’ efforts to carry out malicious cyber activities against the United States.”
Biden specifically cited Russia’s efforts to “undermine the conduct of “democratic elections and institutions in the U.S. and its allies, its “malicious cyber-enabled activities,” and its use of “transnational corruption to influence foreign governments.”
Other malign behavior mentioned by Biden included the targeting of dissidents and journalists outside Russia, the undermining of security in areas where the United States. has national security interest, and the violation of international law.
Research contact: @Yahoo
