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What followed the US sanctions on Russia?
Summary
A look back at the retaliatory measures Washington announced on 15 April 2021 and the diplomatic reaction that carried into the following days.
What did the diplomatic stand-off between Washington and Moscow look like on 20 April 2021? It was still defined by the measures the United States had announced five days earlier, on 15 April, and by Russia's promise of a response.
The US action was presented as retaliation for three things: the 2020 federal government data breach, interference in the 2020 US elections, and the occupation of Crimea together with human rights abuses there. Washington banned trade in bonds newly issued by Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund and Ministry of Finance. It formally named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as responsible for the data breach, blacklisted 32 Russian entities and individuals, and expelled ten Russian diplomats. Russia denied the allegations.
Moscow's warning
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US ambassador and told him that a series of retaliatory measures would follow soon. A ministry spokesperson also said that a potential summit between the two countries' leaders might not take place.
The accusations behind the measures
The data breach was a cyberattack suspected of being carried out by a group backed by the Russian government. It penetrated thousands of organisations worldwide, including parts of the US federal government, and was reported to be among the worst cyber-espionage incidents the United States had suffered. Within days of its discovery, at least 200 organisations around the world were reported to be affected, among them NATO, the UK government, the European Parliament and Microsoft.
On the elections, US intelligence analysis released in March 2021 found that proxies of Russian intelligence had promoted misleading or unsubstantiated narratives about Joe Biden. According to that analysis, these were passed to US media organisations, officials and prominent individuals.
The sanctions package and Moscow's warning left the question of a leaders' summit open. Later, in May 2021, The New York Times reported that federal investigators in Brooklyn had begun a criminal investigation into possible efforts by current and former Ukrainian officials to spread unsubstantiated corruption allegations about Biden. That was not known on 20 April 2021.
