Name: On the record: The U.S. administration’s actions on Russia
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On the record: The U.S. administration’s actions on Russia

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The Trump administration’s policy actions often seemed at odds with the President’s rhetoric. To set the record on policy actions, rather than rhetoric, Alina Polyakova and Filippos Letsas tracked the administration’s concrete actions on Russia from 2017 to 2019.Dec 5Sanctions –A Russian-based cybercriminal organization called “Evil Corp” was sanctioned for using malware to steal more than $100 million from banks and financial institutions.Sep 30Sanctions –Four entities and seven individuals, including Russian financier Yevgeniy Prigozhin, were sanctioned over attempted interference in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections.Sep 26Sanctions –The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control identified Moscow-based Maritime Assistance LLC as the head of a “sanctions evasion scheme” to deliver jet fuel to Syria.Aug 2Sanctions –The U.S. Department of State announced more sanctions against Russia over its use of a nerve agent in Salisbury in 2018. The sanctions fall under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act and mean the U.S. will oppose loans and assistance by international financial institutions, and restrictions on the export on Department of Commerce-controlled goods and technology.May 16Sanctions –A Chechen group and 5 Russian individuals were sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act over allegations of human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and the torture of LGBT people.May 14Meeting –May 1Statement –President Trump denounced Russia’s continued support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela.Apr 24Statement –The U.S. Department of State condemned Russia’s decision to grant expedited citizenship to residents of Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine.Mar 15Sanctions –6 Russian individuals and 8 entities were sanctioned for their involvement in attacks on Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait, the annexation of Crimea, and backing of separatist government elections in eastern Ukraine. These actions complement sanctions also taken by the European Union and Canada on the same day.Mar 14Statement –The U.S. Department of State condemned Russian offensive operations against northern Hama and southern Idlib in Syria.Mar 11Sanctions –The United States sanctioned Evrofinance Mosnarbank, a Moscow-based bank jointly owned by Russian and Venezuelan state-owned companies, for attempting to circumvent U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.Mar 4Notice –President Trump announced the continuation for one year of the national emergency declared with respect to Ukraine.Feb 27Statement –Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement condemning Russia’s illegal actions in Crimea and its continued aggression against Ukraine.Feb 1Statement –The U.S. administration announced it would suspend its obligations under the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty because Russia was not complying with it.Jan 29Release –U.S. intelligence officials delivered their annual assessment of global threats to national security to Congress, identifying cooperation between China and Russia as their top concern.Dec 21Statement –The U.S. Department of State announced it would provide an additional $10 million in Foreign Military Financing to further build Ukraine’s naval capabilities in response to Russian attacks near the Kerch Strait.Dec 19Sanctions –18 Russian individuals were sanctioned for their involvement in a wide range of malign activities, including attempting to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election, efforts to undermine international organizations through cyber-enabled means, and the Skripal attack in the United Kingdom.Dec 7Statement –The U.S. Department of State refuted Russia’s and the Assad regime’s false accusations that the opposition and extremist groups conducted a chlorine attack in northwestern Aleppo.Dec 4Statement –Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the U.S. would withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 60 days if Russia did not return to compliance.Nov 26Statements –Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley condemned Russia’s decision to intercept, fire on, and seize three Ukrainian navy vessels in the Black Sea.Oct 19Indictments –A Russian woman was charged for her alleged role in a conspiracy to interfere in the U.S. political system, including the 2018 midterm election.Oct 4Indictments –7 officers of the Russian military intelligence service (GRU) were charged for their involvement in hacking Olympic athletes, anti-doping organizations, and chemical weapons monitors.Sep 20Sanctions –33 Russian individuals and entities were sanctioned for their role in U.S. election interference and their involvement in supporting military operations in Syria and Ukraine. A Chinese entity and its director were also sanctioned for purchasing jet fighters and missiles from Russia.Sep 12Executive Order –President Trump signed an executive order imposing sanctions on any nation or individual who authorizes, directs, or sponsors meddling operations in U.S. elections. The order would allow for the freezing of assets and the limiting of foreign access to U.S. financial institutions, as well as a cutoff of U.S. investment in sanctioned companies.Sep 6Statement –The United States issued a joint statement with France, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, reiterating its outrage at the use of a chemical nerve agent in Salisbury and expressing full confidence in the British assessment that the suspects were officers of the Russian military intelligence service (GRU).Aug 21Sanctions –2 Russian individuals, a Russian company, and a Slovakian company were sanctioned for helping another Russian company avoid sanctions over the country’s malicious cyber-related activities.Aug 21Testimony –Aug 8Sanctions –The U.S. administration announced it would restrict remaining sources of foreign assistance and arms sales to Russia, and deny U.S. credit to Russia, including through the Export-Import Bank. Restrictions would also prohibit the export of security-sensitive goods and technology.Jul 25Testimony –Jul 25Declaration –Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a formal policy reaffirming the U.S. rejection of Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The announcement was released an hour before his scheduled testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.Jul 16Meeting –Jul 13Indictments –12 Russian intelligence officers were sanctioned for their involvement in hacking the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton presidential campaign.Jul 11-12Meeting –Jun 11Sanctions –5 Russian entities and 3 individuals – all closely linked to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) – were sanctioned.Apr 6Sanctions –7 Russian oligarchs and the companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company (and a bank it owns) were sanctioned for their roles in advancing Russia’s malign activities – including the continued occupation of Crimea, engaging in cyberattacks, and supporting Assad’s regime.Mar 26Expulsions –48 Russian intelligence officers from the Russian embassy in Washington were expelled, and the Russian consulate in Seattle was ordered to close, in response to the Skripal poisoning in the United Kingdom.Mar 25Expulsions –12 Russian intelligence officers from the Russian Mission to the United Nations in New York were expelled for actions deemed to be abuses of their privilege of residence.Mar 15Sanctions –5 Russian entities and 19 individuals were sanctioned for conducting a series of cyberattacks and interfering in the 2016 U.S. elections.Mar 15Alert –The Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a joint Technical Alert on Russian government actions targeting U.S. government entities, as well as organizations in the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors.Mar 15Statement –The United States issued a joint statement with France, Germany, and the United Kingdom strongly condemning the Salisbury nerve agent attack and suggesting Russia was responsible for it.Mar 14Statement –The U.S. administration issued a statement expressing its solidarity to the United Kingdom over the nerve agent attack in Salisbury, and sharing its assessment that Russia was responsible for it.Mar 4Statement –The U.S. administration condemned the military offensive that the Assad regime, backed by Russia and Iran, had been conducting in Syria’s Eastern Ghouta region.Mar 4Poisoning –Feb 16Indictments –3 Russian entities and 13 individuals were indicted for conducting information operations to influence the 2016 U.S. elections.Feb 15Statement –The U.S. administration condemned the Russian military for launching a destructive cyberattack in June 2017, also known as “NotPetya.”Feb 13Statement –The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a new rule to ban ABLV Bank AS, Latvia’s third-biggest bank, for its involvement in illicit Russia-related activity.Feb 7Military Action –U.S. troops killed hundreds of Syrian forces backed by Russian mercenaries (as well as Russian private military contractors). The American bombing was launched in response to a surprise attack on a U.S.-held base in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region in Syria.Jan 29Release –The Department of the Treasury released a list of the most significant senior foreign political figures and oligarchs in the Russian Federation that could potentially be at risk of sanctions (114 senior political figures close to Russian President Putin and 96 oligarchs with a net worth of $1 billion or more).Jan 26Sanctions –21 individuals and 9 entities were sanctioned in connection with the conflict in Ukraine and Russia’s occupation of Crimea.Jan 19Release –The Department of Defense released its National Defense Strategy, identifying Russia and China as strategic competitors to the United States.Dec 22Announcement –The U.S. administration approved a plan to provide Ukraine with enhanced defensive capabilities to help it fight off Russia-backed separatists.Dec 20Sanctions –52 people and entities from Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and elsewhere were sanctioned for alleged human rights violations and corruption.Dec 19Export restrictions –The Department of Commerce announced new licensing and export restrictions on Russian companies Novator and Titan-Barrikady over production of a cruise missile prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).Dec 18Release –The White House released its National Security Strategy, identifying Russia and China as adversarial to the United States.Nov 10-11Meeting –Oct 27Release –The Department of State issued public guidance on the implementation of Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017 (CAATSA). The guidance specified 39 entities that the Department of State determined are part of – or are operating on behalf of – the Russian defense or intelligence sectors.Sep 13Ban –The U.S. administration banned the use of Kaspersky Labs software on government computers due to Kaspersky’s ties to Russian intelligence services.Aug 2Legislation –President Trump signed into law the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions act (CAATSA), enacting new sanctions on Russia, Iran, and North Korea.Jul 7-8Meeting –May 26-27Meeting –May 24-25Meeting –Mar 15Indictments –Three Russian individuals were charged for the 2014 Yahoo hack, including two officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).A how-to guide for managing the end of the post-Cold War era.Pakistan has faced a series of crises this year: economic, political, now, a natural disaster. Running underneath all of this has been the political crisis. As Balochistan was being flooded — scenes and videos were rolling in from Balochistan — the government was basically concerned entirely with politics, and Khan was concerned entirely with politics. The blame in many ways falls on the state for not taking charge of, for instance, its National Disaster Management Authority, not jumping into action right away.Tuesday, August 30, 2022Get daily updates from Brookings

The Trump administration’s policy actions often seemed at odds with the President’s rhetoric. To set the record on policy actions, rather than rhetoric, Alina Polyakova and Filippos Letsas tracked the administration’s concrete actions on Russia from 2017 to 2019.Dec 5Sanctions –A Russian-based cybercriminal organization called “Evil Corp” was sanctioned for using malware to steal more than $100 million from banks and financial institutions.Sep 30Sanctions –Four entities and seven individuals, including Russian financier Yevgeniy Prigozhin, were sanctioned over attempted interference in the...

On the record: The U.S. administration’s actions on Russia

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