{"id":4717,"date":"2016-12-30T07:50:40","date_gmt":"2016-12-30T07:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/box5917.temp.domains\/~iriacom\/\/news\/?p=4717"},"modified":"2016-12-30T08:15:06","modified_gmt":"2016-12-30T08:15:06","slug":"u-s-sanctions-russia-over-election-hacking-moscow-vows-to-retaliate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/u-s-sanctions-russia-over-election-hacking-moscow-vows-to-retaliate\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. sanctions Russia over Election hacking; Moscow vows to retaliate"},"content":{"rendered":"

US and Russia relations fall to their worst since the Cold<\/strong> War<\/strong><\/p>\n

United States has expelled 35 Russian diplomats in retaliation for Russian efforts to interfere with the US presidential election 2016.<\/p>\n

President Obama described those expelled as \u201cintelligence operatives,\u201d also announcing the closure of two Russian compounds, in New York and Maryland. This is\u00a0one of the biggest diplomatic confrontations between Washington and Moscow since the end of the Cold War.<\/p>\n

The Russian diplomats would be given 72 hours to leave US soil. They are expelled for acting in a \u201cmanner inconsistent with their diplomatic status,\u201d the statement\u00a0reads.<\/p>\n

Obama said Americans should \u201cbe alarmed by Russia\u2019s actions\u201d, adding that \u201cUsing this new authority, I have sanctioned nine entities and individuals: the GRU and the FSB, two Russian intelligence services; four individual officers of the GRU; and three companies that provided material support to the GRU\u2019s cyber operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Thursday released a joint report<\/a><\/span>\u00a0detailing how federal investigators linked the Russian government to hacks of Democratic Party organizations.<\/p>\n

The 13-page report, known as a \u201cJoint Analysis Report\u201d or JAR, refers to the Russian hacking campaign as \u201cGrizzly Steppe.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sanctions target<\/a><\/span> Russia\u2019s military intelligence agency, the Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, for \u201ctampering, altering or causing the misappropriation of information\u201d with the purpose or effect of interfering with the election.\u00a0The sanctions impose asset freezes and travel bans on the individuals and prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with them.<\/p>\n

Russia vows response to diplomat expulsion from US<\/span><\/h3>\n

Russia has promised to respond to the expulsion of its diplomats from Washington.<\/p>\n

A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin’s reaction would cause the US “significant discomfort”.<\/p>\n

However, he hinted that Russia may wait until Donald Trump, who has played down the hacking claims, becomes president.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump denies Russia’s involvement in the hacks<\/span><\/h3>\n

President-elect Donald Trump, who has expressed a desire to improve relations with Moscow, issued a statement that didn\u2019t directly address the punishments meted out by the Obama White House. He said he will review the situation next week in a meeting with U.S. intelligence officials.<\/p>\n

The expulsion of Russian diplomats appear to be the largest such action since 2001, when Washington ordered out 50 Russian personnel after the capture of Robert Hanssen, the FBI counter intelligence agent who had spied for the Soviet Union and then Russia for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

Joint Analysis Report or Grizzly Steppe<\/a> <\/b><\/p>\n