London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

US imposes sanctions on Russia over cyber-attacks

US imposes sanctions on Russia over cyber-attacks

The US has announced sanctions against Russia in response to what it says are cyber-attacks and other hostile acts.

The measures, which target dozens of Russian entities and officials, aim to deter "Russia's harmful foreign activities", the White House said.

The statement says Russian intelligence was behind last year's massive "SolarWinds" hack, and accuses Moscow of interference in the 2020 election.

Russia denies all the allegations and says it will respond in kind.

The sanctions announced on Thursday are detailed in an executive order signed by President Joe Biden. They come at a tense time for relations between the two countries.

Mr Putin is said to be considering Mr Biden's offer of a summit

Last month the US targeted seven Russian officials and more than a dozen government entities over the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Russia says it was not involved.

In a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, Mr Biden vowed to defend US national interests "firmly", while proposing a meeting with Mr Putin to find areas where the two countries could work together.

What did the Biden administration say?


On Thursday, Mr Biden described his decision to impose sanctions on Russia as "proportionate".

"I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so," Mr Biden told reporters. "The United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia."

He added that the way forwards is through "thoughtful dialogue and diplomatic process".

A statement from the White House said the new sanctions show the US "will impose costs in a strategic and economically impactful manner on Russia" if it continues its "destabilising international action".

It reaffirms the administration's view that the Russian government is behind cyber-attacks and has been trying to "undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections" in the US and allied nations.

It specifically blames Russia's foreign intelligence service, the SVR, for the SolarWinds attack, which gave cyber-criminals access to 18,000 government and private computer networks.

Last December, then US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he believed Russia was behind it.

The latest sanctions target 32 entities and officials accused of trying to influence the 2020 US presidential election "and other acts of disinformation".

Ten diplomats are being expelled. The executive order also bars US financial institutions from purchasing rouble-denominated bonds from June.

Biden treads a careful line

The Biden administration is trying to tread a careful line. US officials want to impose costs for a range of unacceptable behaviour from Moscow and deter further acts. They also want to signal they are going to take a tougher line than the Trump administration. But they also say they do not want to see a downward spiral in relations. The message they have is that their response is "resolute but proportionate".

The SolarWinds cyber-espionage campaign was a primary concern. To maximise the impact they have combined response to this with sanctions over election interference and other issues.

Diplomatic expulsions and sanctions against individuals will largely be shrugged off by Moscow as expected. The financial sanctions regarding Russian sovereign debt are a step-up though.

The US has also published a huge amount of detail about Russian intelligence activities ranging from front companies involved in spreading disinformation to Russian tech companies allegedly supporting its intelligence services.

The hope will be that this also makes it harder for the Russians to operate. But past experience suggests all of this is unlikely to deter the Kremlin.

The White House meanwhile acknowledged there was little evidence to support claims that Russia had offered bounties to Taliban militants for killing American soldiers.

The intelligence assessment was first reported last June by the New York Times, and was cited by Mr Biden on the campaign trial last year to accuse then-President Donald Trump of not standing up to Russia. Mr Trump at the time called it "fake news".

On Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters the intelligence community had determined it had only "low to moderate confidence" in the claims, which are said to have come from interrogations of Afghan detainees.

What is the reaction from Moscow?


Shortly after the sanctions were announced, Russia's foreign ministry called them "hostile steps which dangerously raise the temperature of confrontation".

"Such aggressive conduct will of course get a decisive response," the statement added.

The US ambassador has been called to the foreign ministry.

The EU, Nato and the UK have all issued statements in support of the US measures.

What's the background?


In his first foreign policy speech in February, Mr Biden vowed to stand up to Russia. "The days of the United States rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions… are over," he said.

The Obama-Biden administration was accused of standing by while Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

But in recent days Mr Biden has warned the Kremlin against aggressive actions in Ukraine. Russia is beefing up its military presence in the border area.

Mr Biden's predecessor rarely criticised Mr Putin. In a report last month US intelligence agencies concluded the Russian president had probably directed online efforts to help Mr Trump win a second term as US president.

And yet, according to the Carnegie Moscow Center, Mr Trump imposed a record total of more than 40 rounds of sanctions on Moscow. In 2018 he expelled 60 Russian diplomats from the US.

Ukraine's military also fears Russian aggression in the east of the country

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
×