U.S. sanctions Russians, cites variety of misdeeds

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s administration is sanctioning 15 Russian military intelligence operatives over efforts to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election as well as the attempted assassination of a former double agent in the U.K., the Treasury Department announced Wednesday.

The new sanctions also target individuals accused of being involved in a Russian cyberattack of the World Anti-Doping Agency and a former intelligence officer accused of working for oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

The announcement comes amid a strain in relations between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the U.S. upset over Russia’s capture of Ukrainian ships and sailors in the Kerch Strait near Crimea. Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting at the Group of 20 gathering in Buenos Aires, Argentina last month, citing Russia’s activities in Ukraine.

“Treasury is sanctioning Russian intelligence operatives involved in cyber operations to interfere with the 2016 election and a wide range of other malign activities,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Mnuchin said the U.S. would continue to work with international allies “to take collective action to deter and defend against sustained malign activity by Russia, its proxies, and intelligence agencies.”

The Trump administration has now sanctioned 272 Russia-related individuals.

The elections-related sanctions specifically target individuals involved in Project Lakhta, a Russian effort to pose as Americans to interfere in U.S. elections, as well as the release of stolen election-related documents. The theft and release of emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta have been attributed to Russian intelligence operatives.

The sanctions also hit Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, the two Russian intelligence operatives who are accused of attempting to assassinate former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter using the Novichok nerve agent. The Kremlin has denied involvement in the attempted assassination.

And the sanctions will penalize Russian intelligence officers who hacked and then illegally released medical data of professional athletes held by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The attack came after Russian athletes were banned from participating in the 2016 Summer Olympics after a widespread performance-enhancing drug scandal.

The penalties will prohibit financial transactions between the sanctioned individuals and U.S. citizens or businesses, limiting their access to global financial systems.