What did Washington's sanctions on Russia mean by 16 April 2021?
A look back at the diplomatic fallout from the US measures announced a day earlier, and the steps Moscow said would follow.
What was the state of play between Washington and Moscow on 16 April 2021? The day followed the announcement on 15 April of a package of retaliatory measures by the United States against Russia, and the question now was how Moscow would answer.
As reported at the time, the US response was tied to three issues: the 2020 federal government data breach, interference in the 2020 US elections, and the occupation of and human rights abuses in Crimea. The measures banned trade in bonds newly issued by Russia's Central Bank, National Wealth Fund and Ministry of Finance. Washington also formally named the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service as responsible for the data breach, blacklisted 32 Russian entities and individuals, and expelled ten Russian diplomats.
Moscow's reaction
Russia denied the allegations. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US ambassador to tell 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 later described as among the worst cyber-espionage incidents the United States had suffered, owing to the sensitivity of the targets and the long period in which the hackers had access. Within days of its discovery, at least 200 organisations worldwide had been reported affected, including NATO, the UK government and the European Parliament.
On election interference, US intelligence analysis released in March 2021 found that proxies of Russian intelligence had promoted misleading or unsubstantiated narratives about Joe Biden. The Crimea element of the package linked the sanctions to a territory of Ukraine, which kept the dispute within view of Kyiv.
By 16 April 2021, then, the sequence was set: sanctions and expulsions from Washington, a denial and a promise of countermeasures from Moscow, and a question mark over a leaders' meeting.
