The U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Russian Individuals and Entities

On Wednesday, December 19, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on several Russian citizens and institutions, including due to their connection to the interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. According to Reuters, on the same day, the Treasury announced that it would lift sanctions against the major Russian aluminum producer Rusal and two other companies linked to Oleg Deripaska. However, the Treasury stated that Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminum tycoon, would remain on the sanctions list. In this round of U.S. sanctions, 15 members of the Russian military intelligence agency and four entities were targeted for their alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. election interference, as well as hacking the World Anti-Doping Agency, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and other malicious activities. Additionally, two officers from the Russian military intelligence agency were sanctioned for their role in the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in the UK, and two others were sanctioned for attempting to influence public opinion in the U.S. via the internet. Michael Dobson, an official from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Treasury Department, stated that the U.S. government continues to monitor the Russian intelligence agency and its malicious activities worldwide. Reuters noted that some of those sanctioned are accused of hacking the Democratic Party's office. According to the report, Lena Khusainova, a Russian citizen residing in the U.S., is also on the new sanctions list. Lena Khusainova was accused in October of interfering in the U.S. midterm elections. The lawsuit against this Russian citizen claims that she is an accountant for a campaign known as the information warfare campaign. In this context, earlier this week, the Senate Security Committee released a statement indicating that Russia's 'active' interference aimed at influencing social media in the U.S. is still ongoing. The report adds that these Russian actions, which were revealed after the 2016 presidential election, are much broader than previously thought. Russia has denied the allegations of election interference.