Updated sanctions list, published on the website of the U.S. Treasury. It hit the Federal security service, Main intelligence Directorate of the General staff, Special technology center.
As individuals in the sanctions list included the head of the GRU of the General staff Igor Korobov, his first Deputy Igor Kostyukov, Vladimir Alekseev and the Deputy Korobov Sergey Lizunov. In addition, it includes programmer Alexey Belan and earlier declared wanted by US authorities on charges of hacking Evgeny Bogachev.
President Barack Obama said that new sanctions against Russia were introduced after “repeated public and private warnings,” according to Reuters.
At the same time, a government source told Reuters that the United States closed two of the Russian diplomatic mission in new York and Maryland in response to a Russian attack on American diplomats in Moscow and “the actions are not relevant to diplomatic practice.” From the country, according to the interlocutor of the Agency, will be sent 35 employees of the Russian diplomatic missions, they have 72 hours to leave the country, the Agency said. Earlier, CNN, citing knowledgeable officials reported that the Obama administration intends to impose sanctions against Russia for “interference in the elections” on Thursday, December 29.
According to sources, the channel, the new sanctions involve the extension of existing restrictions and the introduction of measures at the diplomatic level that the administration considers proportional response “to the Russian operation to hacker attacks”.
In addition, the sides of the channel said that the US authorities are planning to introduce some “secret” measures.
Official representative of Russian foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova promised that Russia will give “the answer” in the event of new sanctions.
As noted by Zakharov, “this applies to any actions against the Russian diplomatic missions in the United States, which immediately ricocheted across the American diplomats in Russia.”
According to the press Secretary of the foreign Ministry, the administration of incumbent President Barack Obama intends at the end of the time “to do something bad for relations with Russia, which it is, and so brought down”.
