President Joe Biden’s administration announced new sanctions and expulsions of Russian diplomats on Thursday, reacting to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election, according to The Associated Press.
The Biden administration announced the expulsion of “10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens of people and companies,” per the AP.
- “The sanctions also target Moscow’s ability to borrow money by prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from buying Russian bonds directly from Russian institutions,” according to The Associated Press.
According to The Associated Press, Russian hackers are accused of infecting software with code that would give them access to “the networks of at least nine agencies in what U.S. officials believe was an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at mining government secrets.”
- The sanctions also come after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shared some concern about Russia building up its military outside of Ukraine, according to CNN.
- Per NBC News, intelligence officials recently said Russia “presents one of the most serious intelligence threats to the United States.”
What it means for U.S. foreign policy
Biden’s decision to strike back at Russia is the first time his administration has acted against Russia over the election interference accusations.
- The move will clearly set a tone for how Biden will tackle Russia from a U.S. foreign policy perspective, according to Bloomberg.
- Biden will have a different relationship with Russia than former President Donald Trump, who “was loathe to personally criticize Putin and said more focus should be placed on China as a threat to U.S. national security,” per Bloomberg.