The United States has launched a series of punishments on Russia’s spy agencies and diplomats for trying to influence the 2016 election. It has ejected 35 suspected Russian intelligence operatives from the US and imposed sanctions on Russia’s two leading intelligence services.
The State Department also announced the closing of two waterfront estates that it claimed were being used for Russian intelligence activities. However, there is no clarity yet on whether they were used in election-related hacks.
The decisions by the White House, Treasury, State Department and intelligence agencies is the strongest American response till date to a state-sponsored cyber attack.
These sanctions, though, may be lifted in January when President-elect Donald Trump takes over. He has been maintaining that efforts are being done to delegitimize his election.
