The Trump administration on Thursday issued for the first time sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections and for cyberattacks, targeting the Kremlin’s intelligence agencies and individuals indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for their role in election interference.
In sanctioning five entities and 19 individuals, the U.S. Treasury also cited a cyberattack known as NotPetya and a nerve agent attack in the U.K. that left a former Russia spy and his daughter in critical condition earlier this month.
The action comes after the Trump administration has come under heavy criticism for its response to Russia’s election meddling amid a special Department of Justice counsel investigation into Moscow’s involvement in election interference and whether there was any collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, a charge Trump has repeatedly denied.
