US targets two Russians over alleged attempts to sway 2018 midterm elections
The administration of US President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on two Russian nationals over accusations of attempting to interfere in the 2018 US midterm elections.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Monday that it had blacklisted Igor Nesterov, 34, and Denis Kuzmin, 28, over links to the Internet Research Agency, an organization that US authorities claimed was tasked with spreading disinformation and false news.
“Today, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against Russian actors that attempted to influence the 2018 US midterm elections, though there was no indication that foreign actors were able to compromise election infrastructure that would have prevented voting, changed vote counts, or disrupted the tallying of votes,” the statement said.
“This Administration will work tirelessly to safeguard our electoral process, and will aggressively pursue any other foreign actor that attempts to interfere in the 2020 elections,” it added.
The Internet Research Agency was accused in a report by former US special counsel Robert Mueller of using social media to interfere in the 2016 US presidential election.
According to the Treasury statement, those targeted by the sanctions also had links to Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who the Department had previously designated over allegations of election meddling.
Moreover, the US Treasury said on Monday that it had imposed sanctions on three Russian firms, three private planes and one ship.
The US has in the past introduced several rounds of sanctions against Moscow for what it calls Russia’s meddling in the US democratic process and its involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The Mueller investigation, which had cast a shadow over Trump since he took office, claims that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 election but did not find that the Trump election campaign colluded with Moscow.
US intelligence agencies claim Moscow meddled in the election with a campaign of email hacking and online propaganda aimed at sowing discord in the United States, hurting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and helping Trump.
Russia denies any interference and accuses the US of meddling in the domestic affairs of countries such as Venezuela.
Russia: Poland’s talks on hosting US nuclear weapons ‘dangerous’
Russia says weighs downgrading ties with US if assets are seized
Iran urges US to stop support for Israel as university revolt spreads
VIDEO | Leader meets workers on Labor Week
French police called in to break up US-style pro-Palestinian student demo
VIDEO | US continues starving Syrians, stealing their resources
Yemeni forces strike Israeli ship, Port of Eilat in solidarity with Gaza
Columbia, Yale students bent on ending US support for Israeli genocide
VIDEO | Genocide in Gaza
Iran calls on BRICS to play role in stopping Israeli crimes
President Raeisi’s historic visit opens new chapter in Iran-Pakistan ties
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
