What the US sanctions on Russia meant as of 19 April 2021

What was the state of play on 19 April 2021, as Russia weighed its answer to a fresh round of US penalties? The measures had been announced on 15 April 2021, and the Russian side had already said that more was to come.

Washington said it was acting in response to the 2020 federal government data breach, interference in the 2020 US elections, and the occupation of and human rights abuses in Crimea. It 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 response

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the US ambassador and told him that a series of retaliatory measures would follow soon. A spokesperson for the ministry also said that a potential summit between the two countries' leaders might not take place.

The allegations behind the sanctions

The data breach was a cyberattack suspected to have been carried out by a group backed by the Russian government. As later described, it penetrated thousands of organisations worldwide, including multiple parts of the US federal government, and was reported to be among the worst cyber-espionage incidents the United States had suffered. Affected organisations included NATO, the UK government, the European Parliament and Microsoft.

On election interference, an analysis released in March 2021 by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found that proxies of Russian intelligence had promoted misleading or unsubstantiated narratives about Joe Biden.

Ukraine's domestic picture

Inside Ukraine, the main public-health message in the days before 19 April 2021 came on 13 April 2021. Health Minister Maksym Stepanov said the country had reached the peak of its third wave of coronavirus.