Putin always took care to appear relaxed after previous sanctions rounds from the U.S. and Europe, but this time it might be different.
The Biden administration is due to announce on Thursday severe new sanctions on Russia for election interference and other malign activity, according to government officials quoted in several U.S. news media.
- The measures would include for the first time far-reaching financial sanctions, including tough restrictions on U.S. financial institutions’ ability to trade Russian sovereign debt, according to the reports.
- The sanctions would be largely in response to the cyberattack on SolarWinds software, unveiled in December, which U.S. authorities say allowed Russian hackers to access thousands of companies and government offices.
- Ten diplomats from the Russian embassy in Washington will also be expelled, according to The Wall Street Journal. The sanctions will also designate Russian companies and individuals alleged to share responsibility for the hacking.
- The announcement would come two days after President Joe Biden called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to express his concerns about those issues, as well as over the Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s borders, and suggest a bilateral meeting.
The outlook: Putin always took care to appear relaxed after previous sanctions rounds from the U.S. and Europe, but this time it might be different: The Biden version will be much more costly for the Russian economy, if the U.S. takes radical steps to curb the trading of Russian debt on international markets.
