US government to announce Russian sanctions in response to cyber attacks

The sanctions will target Russian diplomats in the USA, as well as threatening the country's wider economy by banning the purchase of ruble bonds

President Biden's administration will announce new sanctions against Russia this week in retaliation for cyber attacks targeting the USA; election interference; and alleged bounties on US soldiers overseas, according to media reports.

Expected as soon as today, Thursday, the sanctions will target more than 30 Russian entities and include the expulsion of at least 10 individuals from the USA - including diplomats.

The government is also expected to issue an executive order banning US financial institutions from purchasing Russian ruble bonds, in a move targeting the country's wider economy. That action could begin in June, and simply the threat of it has already depressed ruble prices, as well as the price of Russian treasury bonds.

However, some Russian officials have dismissed the threat of being added to the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list, comparing it to joining an elite club.

Unnamed sources told the New York Times that the new sanctions are intended to 'cut deeper' than previous moves against Russia, as punishment for its recent actions on the geopolitical stage.

The Biden administration has already proven more firm on Russia than President Trump's, showing a clear willingness to defend its own borders - both physical and virtual - against attack. By contrast, Mr Trump largely sought to avoid confronting Russia over various agency assessments - including from the CIA and FBI - that the country had interfered with US troops and elections. He went so far as to defend President Putin from an FBI report on Russian election interference in 2018.

It is widely believed that Russia was behind the massive SolarWinds hack last year, which affected many US government institutions including the Treasury Department, the Commerce Department and the Department of Homeland Security. Russia has also been accused of trying to steal Covid-19 vaccine research, and threatening US hopsitals.