US sanctions on Russia

The White House have made well their promise to the Kremlin as US president Barrack Obama yesterday took his executive powers to the next level as he made well his decision to sanction the Russian nation in absolute retaliation for their negative role involvement during the presidential election that brought in Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States. Obama who handed the sanction in response to Moscow's unhealthy dealings during the pre-election process, had earlier vows to investigate the matter to a logical conclusion.

"These actions follow repeated private and public warnings that we have issued to the Russian government, and are a necessary and appropriate response to efforts to harm US interests in violation of established international norms of behavior," Obama said in the statement.

The administration described Russia's involvement as "Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities" and sanctioned four Russian individuals and five Russian entities for what it said was election interference. The administration also ordered 35 Russian diplomats to leave the country and two Russian compounds are being closed.  

The US government had long since raised serious concerns about the activities of the Kremlin in meddling into the US election affairs which they described as unwholesome and unethical given their negative tendency towards undermining their electoral institution in which they hold sacred. First, it was their meddling in on the Democratic National Convention server email, then the FBI interference which involved the investigation of Secretary Clinton use of personal servers in handling classified document while in Government. 

The culmination of the interference got to it peak when sources in Washington observe their close affinity with the US presidential election system in a bid to favor a particular candidates which was glaringly noticed during the GOP pre-election bid and campaigns.

"Russia's cyberactivities were intended to influence the election, erode faith in US democratic institutions, sow doubt about the integrity of our electoral process, and undermine confidence in the institutions of the US government," a White House statement said. "These actions are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The US also separately sanctioned two Russian individuals, Evgeniy Mikhailovich Bogachev and Alexey Belan, for using cyber-enabled means to allegedly cause misappropriation of funds and personal identifying information. They've long been sought by the FBI.

Washington have given 72hour of notice for those expelled to leave the US in absolute compliance. 

According to a CNN reports, the Russian diplomats and the two compounds, located in Maryland and New York, were engaged in intelligence activities but were not alleged to have been involved in the hacking related to the election, White House Homeland Security adviser Lisa Monaco told reporters. The moves are instead part of the US's comprehensive reaction to election-related hacking as well as recent harassment of US personnel in Russia.

Similarly, in a related development, while president elect Trump remain undecided in this sanction, congressional leader and head of the Republican seat Paul Ryan, has however hailed the sanction, calling it long "overdue" while adding that it was an appropriate way to end eight years of Obama's leniency with Russia.     

"Russia does not share America's interests," he said in a statement Thursday. "In fact, it has consistently sought to undermine them, sowing dangerous instability around the world. While today's action by the administration is overdue, it is an appropriate way to end eight years of failed policy with Russia. And it serves as a prime example of this administration's ineffective foreign policy that has left America weaker in the eyes of the world."

 

Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham, two of Russia's fiercest critics in the US Senate, called for stronger sanctions against Russia.

 

"The retaliatory measures announced by the Obama administration today are long overdue. But ultimately, they are a small price for Russia to pay for its brazen attack on American democracy. We intend to lead the effort in the new Congress to impose stronger sanctions on Russia," the two said in a joint statement.