US intends to expel 10 Russian diplomats

The United States will impose sanctions on 12 Russians and 20 Russian entities and expel 10 Russian diplomats, accusing Russia of interfering in the US election and carrying out cyber attacks via SolarWinds, Bloomberg news agency reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

US-Russia relations are having storms. Illustrative photo

The US could announce the measures as early as Thursday, sources said.

Sources say that among the citizensRussia and Americaprepare to impose sanctions on both government and intelligence officials.

In early January, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement from the FBI and several other agencies, stating that Russia was likely behind a large-scale cyber attack targeting customers of computer security firm SolarWinds.

The target of the attack, which included US government agencies, Washington said was to gather intelligence. However, it was later announced that the attackers did not gain access to sensitive information.

As stated by Jake Sullivan, the national security advisor to US President Joe Biden, the White House is ready to use different methods to respond to this attack: not only sanctions but also "visible and invisible" tools. The New York Times wrote that the US is planning to carry out "secret counterattacks" on Russian systems, which will be known to the Russian leadership, intelligence and military, not the outside world.

Russia denies all allegations of involvement in cyber attacks.