White House Penalizes Russians Over Election Meddling and Cyberattacks
President Trump with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in July. The sanctions announced on Thursday represented the first time Mr.
The sanctions came as the United States joined with Britain, France and Germany in denouncing Russia for its apparent role in a nerve gas attack on a former Russian spy and his cheap moncler coats daughter on British soil, calling it a “clear violation” of international law. But the joint statement said nothing about any collective action in response.
In his first comment on the poison attack, Mr. Trump agreed that, despite its denials, Russia was likely behind it. “It looks like it,” he told reporters in the Oval Office, adding moncler outlet store that he had spoken with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain.
“We are in deep discussions,” Mr. Trump continued. “A very sad situation. It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never, ever happen. And we’re taking it very seriously, as I think are many others.”
Before leaving office, President Barack Obama expelled 35 Russian diplomats, seized a pair of diplomatic properties and imposed sanctions in response to the election interference. But while Mr. Trump’s administration has issued sanctions against some Russians for human rights abuses or for the country’s intervention in Ukraine, the measures announced on Thursday uk moncler outlet represented the first time he took action moncler usa on the meddling, and only after Congress passed legislation to force his hand.
The sanctions targeted the same three Russian organizations moncler outlet prices and 13 individuals indicted by Mr. Mueller for an audacious operation spreading disinformation and propaganda to disrupt American democracy and, eventually, promote Mr. Trump. The sanctions also targeted two other organizations and six individuals in response to various cyberattacks dating to cheap moncler jackets womens March 2016, including a previously unconfirmed attempt to penetrate the American energy grid. elections, destructive cyberattacks and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said cheap moncler jackets in a statement. “These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.”
Moscow dismissed the move as political. “This is purely tied to the internal American infighting,” Sergei moncler sale outlet Ryabkov, a deputy foreign minister, told the Interfax news agency. “This is also cheap moncler jackets mens tied to our elections calendar.”
President Vladimir V. Putin is virtually guaranteed of winning re election on Sunday, but state run media outlets tirelessly speculate that Western moncler outlet woodbury governments are creating provocations to make his victory and moncler sale future moncler outlet rule less secure. “The Americans don’t have any grounds to impose sanctions,” Mr. Ryabkov said. Mueller accused of creating fake online best moncler jackets personas, infiltrating social media, posting thousands of ads and even organizing political rallies to shape the 2016 contest.
Nine of moncler sale online the 24 entities and individuals targeted on Thursday had already received sanctions from Mr. Obama or Mr. Trump for other reasons, including Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, an oligarch known as “Putin’s cook” who was accused of controlling the Internet Research Agency. Also hit with sanctions again were the Federal Security Service and its military intelligence counterpart.
Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain at the site in Salisbury where a former Russian spy and his daughter were found critically ill after a nerve gas attack. Mr. The attacks, known as “Dragonfly,” pierced many layers of security and would have allowed the intruders to cheap moncler coats mens sabotage systems, experts say. But there is no evidence any sabotage took place.
Those attacks have been known to the American government for more than a year, but kept highly classified. Symantec Corporation, which markets systems that detect and combat malware, issued a report about Dragonfly in October, but stopped short of naming the Russians. last June.
Those attacks suggest Russian state sponsored hackers have been mapping out Western industrial, power and nuclear facilities, cheap moncler sale perhaps in preparation for eventual sabotage. There is no evidence that Russian hackers were able to jump from the operator’s corporate networks into the production networks that control plant operations, but forensic investigators and government officials believe the attacks were designed to look for ways to make that jump.
The joint statement responding to the March 4 poisoning attack in Salisbury, England, came a day after Mrs. May expelled 23 Russian diplomats and announced other measures in retaliation. Sergei V. Skripal, the former Russian spy, and his daughter, Yulia, were left in a coma because of the attack, which moncler outlet online British investigators attributed to Novichok, a potent nerve agent developed in the Soviet uk moncler sale Union in the 1970s and ’80s.
“This use of a military grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War,” the statement by the four allies moncler uk outlet said. “It https://www.cheapmoncler.com is an assault on the United Kingdom’s sovereignty and any such use by a state party is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention and a breach of international law. It threatens the security of us all.”
Although it did not include concrete steps in response, the joint statement was a notable display of moncler womens jackets unanimity among countries that have taken varying stances toward Russia in recent months. Mrs. May has sought in recent days to marshal criticism of Russia, submitting statements to international organizations like the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Russia has denied responsibility for the attack. “Neither Russia nor the Soviet Union has ever moncler online store pursued any moncler outlet sale programs to develop chemical warfare agent called Novichok,” Mr. Ryabkov said. “The allegations that such a program existed have been spread by people who were discount moncler jackets earlier transferred to the West and who actually emigrated not without Western governments’ assistance.”.