Trump Finally Finds Reasons to Punish Russia
After fourteen months of mixed signals (and confused policy) on Russia, the Trump Administration took twin actions on Thursday to address the increasingly aggressive moves by the government of Vladimir Putin. Washington slapped sanctions on nineteen prominent Russian individuals and five entities—including Russian intelligence services—for meddling in the 2016 Presidential election and for “malicious cyberattacks” that targeted a stunning array of America’s infrastructure, from the U.S. energy grid and nuclear plants to aviation, water systems, and manufacturing.
In an intriguing twist, thirteen of the Russians who were sanctioned were indicted last month in the investigation by the special counsel Robert Mueller. President Trump has repeatedly dismissed allegations that Russia tried to sway the election—as a “hoax” or fake news—despite the unanimous consensus of the intelligence community. When the President met Putin, in Vietnam, in November, he even embraced the Russian leader’s denial of any role in the U.S. Presidential vote. “He said he absolutely did not meddle in our election. He did not do what they’re saying he did,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, four months ago. “That whole thing was set up by the Democrats.”
The new sanctions stop decidedly short of charging that Russia actually influenced the outcome of the vote in Trump’s favor—something Trump has vehemently argued did not occur. But they are the most significant (of limited) actions the Administration has adopted since taking office. The White House imposed the sanctions as the Times reported that Mueller had recently subpoenaed documents from the Trump Organization related to Russia, as well as other topics that the special counsel is investigating. The Trump Organization oversees the business ventures the President amassed before taking office. If true, the move by Mueller brings the investigation closer than ever to the President and his family circle.
In addition to the sanctions, the White House issued a joint statement with the three big European powers—Britain, France, and Germany—condemning Russia for using a chemical weapon in a recent assassination attempt on a former spy, Sergei V. Skripal, and his daughter Yulia, in Britain. “This use of a military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, constitutes the first offensive use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War,” the statement said. “It threatens the security of us all.”
Britain reported that Skripal was exposed to Novichok, which was developed by Russia more than thirty years ago but has never been used on a battlefield. Scientists report that it is more dangerous than VX and sarin, the two other better-known nerve agents, and is harder to trace. Skripal, a former military-intelligence officer who was arrested in Russia, in 2004, for spying for Britain, was released in a spy swap, in 2010. He and his daughter collapsed on a public bench in Salisbury, England, on March 4th. Both are still in critical condition.
The attack was widely considered a warning from Moscow to Russian dissidents, exiles, and spies. On a broader level, however, the attack in Britain and the meddling in American elections are considered signs of Putin’s boldness in spreading his influence globally—well beyond Ukraine (which his forces invaded in 2014) or Syria (where it dispatched new military advisers, warplanes, and other major military equipment, in 2015). Putin is moving deeply—and blatantly—into the West now, too, on a scale similar to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The joint statement called the Skripal assassination attempt, which also seriously injured a police officer and others, an assault on Britain’s sovereignty as well as a breach of international law and Russia’s commitment under the Chemical Weapons Convention. “We call on Russia to live up to its responsibilities as a member of the U.N. Security Council to uphold international peace and security,” the four governments said. The statement followed heated attacks on Russia at the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, but it opted not to try to adopt a formal resolution because Russia holds one of the five vetoes.
Trump’s public comments on the poisoning have not been quite as tough as the White House’s statement. Pressed on Russia’s culpability in the attack on the former Russian spy, he told reporters, “It looks like it. I spoke with the [British] Prime Minister and we are in deep discussions. A very sad situation. It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it. Something that should never ever happen. We’re taking it very seriously, as are, I think, many others.”
The Trump Administration said its moves this week do not reflect the full scope of its response. “By no means will this constitute the end of our ongoing campaign to instruct Mr. Putin to change his behavior,” a senior national-security official said during a White House teleconference briefing. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin specifically warned Russian officials and oligarchs against “destabilizing activities.”
The Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. issued an alert accompanying the sanctions that detailed the wide scope of Russia’s cyberattack on American infrastructure. It described the 2016 attack as “a multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors who targeted small commercial facilities’ networks where they staged malware, conducted spear phishing, and gained remote access into energy sector networks.”
The Russian organizations sanctioned include the Federal Security Service, which is the successor to the Soviet Union’s notorious K.G.B., as well as Russian military intelligence, or G.R.U. (Both were also sanctioned by the Obama Administration for their role in election interference.) Also cited were the Internet Research Agency, and twelve people working for it in various capacities.
Russia said Thursday that it was preparing “a response” and blamed theU.S. move on Washington’s political dysfunction. “It is tied to U.S. internal disorder, tied of course to our election calendar,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the news agency Tass. Russians holds a Presidential election on Sunday that Putin is expected to win in a landslide. The only real question is the turnout.
Source:-https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/trump-finally-finds-reasons-to-punish-russia
