The Treasury Department Friday sanctioned more than three dozen Russian leaders and businesses as the Trump administration ramps up its pressure on Russia for what it calls its "worldwide malign activity."

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It's the latest step to punish Russia's President Vladimir Putin by a U.S. president who has talked of warmer relations with Moscow – and critics are split between praising it as a good first step or still not enough.

In total, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs, 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian government officials, and one state-owned company and its subsidiary bank.

The list includes key figures in Putin's inner circle and some of his closest associates, including his estranged son-in-law and heads of many of Russia's most important banks and state-owned companies.

"Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government’s destabilizing activities," said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

The sanctions are in part authorized under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA – the law that Congress passed overwhelmingly last summer and President Donald Trump begrudgingly signed and that his administration has been slow to implement, missing key deadlines in the past.

Many of the names here come from an "oligarchs report" that CAATSA required the administration produce in January — a report officials admitted was in part cribbed from a similar list produced by Forbes magazine, garnering criticism.

IS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION DOING ENOUGH?

CAATSA did not require the administration to sanction any of the oligarchs, but after the alleged poisoning of an ex-spy in the United Kingdom and increased political pressure in the U.S., the administration made Friday's move to show strength against what many have warned is Russia's increasing aggression.

"The new sanctions announced today will further the administration’s efforts to confront destabilizing and malicious behavior by Russia," the White House said in a statement, pointing to sanctions levied in March for Russia's cyber activity, including the alleged 2016 election interference, penalties in December for alleged human rights abuses, and sanctions last June for Russia's incursion in eastern Ukraine and occupation of Crimea.

Those sanctions are in addition to other steps, like the expulsion of 60 Russians – 48 of whom the U.S. alleges are intelligence operatives – from the U.S., the closings of Russia's Seattle and San Francisco consulates, and the sale of lethal weapons to Ukraine.

Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images

While still bashing Trump's praise for Putin, some critics have begun to applaud the forceful response.

"This is huge," tweeted Bill Browder, a British-American businessman who has made a life-long campaign out of exposing alleged corruption in Russia after he says his company was targeted by a massive tax fraud and a lawyer working for him, Sergey Magnitsky, was murdered for uncovering it. "Finally hitting Putin and his cronies where it counts," Browder added.

Putin's most prominent political opponent, the anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, also tweeted his more muted praise, writing "Oh ho, not bad." Navalny specializes in uncovering alleged ill-gotten gains of the elite around Putin and has called for the U.S. and European countries to go after them, saying it is the only way to inflict real pain on the Kremlin and create opposition to Putin within Russia.

But others said Friday's actions were not enough to change Russia's behavior.

"There is a high threshold for economic discomfort in Russia, especially among the ruling class... This idea of we're going to press on one part of the Kremlin's power structure and that will add pressure to Putin is misguided at best," said Brett Bruen, the former Director of Global Engagement in the Obama White House.

Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images

"We have to create better deterrence, better disincentives for Russia to decide that the pain that our response will inflict on them is too great to risk using" their information warfare, he added, calling for U.S. counter campaigns that expose corruption and mismanagement in Russia – a "taste of their own medicine" approach.

Instead, more sanctions will do little, as they have in the past, he argued: "Simply adding more onto the individual sanctions isn't going to markedly change Putin's calculation, and I think we're sorely misguided and fooling ourselves if we think it will."

WHO IS ON THE LIST?

Still, the list includes some big names, such as Kirill Shamalov, the son of a longtime Putin associate who until recently was the husband of Putin’s younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, officials said. After he married Putin’s daughter he reportedly briefly became a billionaire overnight when he was given a giant loan to buy out shares in a Russian energy company, Sibur, according to Treasury officials. Despite his separation from Tikhonova, he remains in Putin's inner circle, the department said.

Kommersant Publishing House via AP

Viktor Zolotov, the former chief of Putin's personal bodyguards, is now the head of Russia's National Guard, a recently-created force empowered to put down unrest. An adviser to Zolotov dismissed the effect sanctions would have on his boss, telling Russian media, "Sanctions virtually make no sense" because he has no assets in the U.S. Instead, sanctioning the National Guard chief "is a stimulus for even more efficient work, because we view his inclusion in the list as recognizing the Russian Guard's high effectiveness."

Other VIPs on the U.S. list include Alexey Miller, the head of state-owned energy giant Gazprom, and Andrey Kostin, the head of the major state-run VTB bank.

Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate and close friend of Putin, hired Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chairman, for investment services, according to court documents. Senior administration officials did not mention the connection, but they warned of Deripaska's criminality, alleging ties to organized crime, ordering the murder of a businessman, and illegally wiretapping a government official, among other alleged crimes.

Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images

Also on the list is Alexander Torshin, the deputy governor of the Russian Central Bank, who reportedly was found trying to cultivate ties to the Trump campaign through the National Rifle Association.

Sanctioning these leaders' companies as well gives Friday's action deeper impact, according to some experts.

"Putin will be pissed off since these go after key oligarchs and enablers with personal ties to the Kremlin," tweeted Michael Carpenter, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia, Eurasia, and the Balkans and Russia Director at the National Security Council under President Barack Obama. But he added, "These sanctions target their companies too, which packs a bigger punch than just individuals."

The list also includes a state-owned military firm, Rosoboroneksport, that the U.S. says has been selling arms to the Assad regime in Syria, "enabling Assad to continue to carrying out attacks against Syrian civilians," including chemical weapons attacks, the Treasury said.</s>The fraudulent personality -- with a racist slur for a surname -- spoke as the expert representative of the Pentagon in Russian and Ukrainian media from 2015-2017. Rapoport's "Jewburg" posed as an Army officer veteran, commanded a powerful sphere of influence on social media and claimed to be connected to Facebook's inner circles to the point of conference calls and gatekeeping whitelists for "untouchable" accounts.

The social media personality used a faked ID and was well-connected online, cementing a presence that quickly positioned "Jewburg" as a voice of the Kremlin-hating American military that everyone in the Putin-Trump opposition needed to know. And yet, "Despite his rise to visibility with over 25,000 Facebook subscribers," Bellingcat concluded, "extensive exposure in Ukrainian and Russian media, and a public "resignation" after Trump's election, David Jewberg is not a real person."

As part of Bellingcat's extensive investigation, published this week, it "contacted both the State Department (where Jewberg supposedly worked while at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow) and the Department of Defense (where he supposedly was employed until late 2016 and is a U.S. Army officer)". "Both denied ever employing someone by the name of "David Jewberg". The State Department went as far as to say that the online activity of Jewberg was "fictitious"."

The persona was positioned as an anti-Putin, anti-Trump figure supposedly speaking with the credibility of an Army officer and a "Senior Russian Analyst at US Department of Defense." He even purported to rage-quit the DoD after Trump was elected. The "Jewburg" figure was widely-quoted as an expert who spoke for the Pentagon in Ukrainian and Russian media, pushing arguments that a war between Russia and NATO would be over in "10 days," among other propaganda-tinged talking points.

"David Jewberg was just the kind of American many in the Russian opposition craved," Bellingcat explained. By Fall of 2016, his online connections and faked Department of Defense credibility made him highly desirable by Russian media who sought a representation of "the warmongering, Russophobic Pentagon long promulgated by the Kremlin anti-American propaganda."

Actual person and 23-year CIA veteran Glenn Carle told Bellingcat that it was highly unlikely "Jewburg" was anything but a foil. "If Jewberg was actually ran by an anti-Russian figure," they wrote, "he called it a 'crap initiative' and thought it was more likely to be a Russian disinformation campaign than an actual anti-Russian operation."

The Russian journalist who infiltrated and uncovered the Internet Research Agency, Lyudmila Savchuk-Borisova, said "'Jewberg' resembles propagandist fake accounts that a troll factory in Russia would create. A whole group of people would work on something like this." Considering that she trained and worked with several of the 13 named in Mueller's indictment for subverting the 2016 election and supporting Trump's campaign, she might have some considered perspective.

"Jewburg" had a Facebook profile stuffed with photos proving his existence — which Bellingcat discovered were actually photos stolen from the Facebook profile of a man named Steve Ferro, a man Rapoport met in college. For further proof, the "Jewberg" photographed and shared online photos of his supposed ID cards from the DoD, Army and state of Virginia. The obviously photoshopped forgeries (including an especially deformed ear, for instance) were made using photos of Ferro.

Bellingcat found that while there was a team behind the persona, "Rapoport (...) was actively propping up Jewberg's credibility online. In particular," they wrote, "Rapoport posted pictures of a man he identified as "David Jewberg" (photos of the same man were featured on Jewberg's Facebook profile) and referred to him as a personal acquaintance of a number of years."

Rapoport, who now lives in Ukraine, also acted as an intermediary for those who wanted to get in touch with "Jewburg," even referring to the made-up persona as a "friend and brother" during a spat on Rapoport's Facebook page. Once, when asked if Rapoport was a military expert, Bellingcat reported Rapoport's reply as, "I'm actually not, but my friend and brother David Jewberg is. Do read his opinion".

Rapoport's "Jewburg" ran a popular Facebook page from 2015-2017 that was predominantly "somewhat Americanized" fluent Russian with a post in English now and then. Facebook was his primary social capital, lending "Jewburg" credibility along with the persona's LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus profiles.

In the summer of 2016, "Jewburg" positioned himself as a target of pro-Kremlin forces on Facebook, and campaigned to get himself on Facebook's list of "untouchables" — a supposed register of accounts that can't be suspended. He made himself out to be a representative of Facebook's alleged pro-Kremlin bias so he could champion an allegedly discriminated-against class (and become a gatekeeper for those he represented, via his access).

Through political maneuvering and making a lot of noise on Facebook, he supposedly found success. Maybe Rapoport just played into the self-victimizing conservatism of Facebook leadership. To which I'd have to say, nice exploit, bro. Anyway, "Per Jewberg's posts on Facebook," wrote Bellingcat, "in August 2016 he had a phone conference call with "Facebook Global Head of Content Policy," the "Facebook head in Eastern Europe", and others."

Bellingcat added, "During the phone call, according to Jewberg, he informed Facebook of the social network's alleged pro-Kremlin bias and was asked to submit a list of unjustly blocked accounts." Facebook did not return Bellingcat's requests for comment.

When reached for comment, Facebook referred us to "the transcript of Mark's Q&A" -- specifically the section about the IRA. The section we were directed to stated, perhaps ominously:

Keep in mind that Facebook did not remove the "Jewburg" persona. All of the fraudulent social media profiles related to "David Jewburg" were removed prior to publication of the Bellingcat post.

Though, as recent Russian counterintelligence operations on Facebook seem to go, this one isn't too far out there. But it is less obvious than ones we've only recently learned about. As we're still finding out, despite Facebook's best efforts to the contrary, the Internet Research Agency ran multiple pages made to look like part of the Black Lives Matter movement. Most famous were "Blacktivist" and "Black Matters US" (which included ads), both of which targeted African-Americans in order to stoke hatred against Hillary Clinton, build trust between Americans and the fake organizations, and -- especially -- to ignite racial tensions in the US.

As Wired put it, Russia's fraudulent online personas and movements are more than "fake news." They wrote, "Indeed, the Blacktivist case is all the more fascinating for where it sowed discord: not within but without. Spread across its web of sham accounts, Internet Research Agency targeted issues that had become fiery, schismatic national talking points during the presidential election and have remained so at dinner tables across America." Turning us against each other has always been the point. That the current state of racial and class inequality, and acute corruption within our systems of authority and governance, was already at a breaking point was what made it easy.

And so it's no coincidence, I'll wager, that Rapoport -- or his team -- chose a racial slur for a very uncommon last name to the fake persona. This is part of the neoconservative playbook, taking on childishly racist, crudely simplistic handles as suggested in the Daily Stormer's guide for assimilation.

It's American racism as an aesthetic: it's not a description of the way one kind of people debase and invalidate the very humanity of more than half the planet, it's a dark funhouse mirror exaggeration for a totalitarian, insecure Russian racist's imagination of that.</s>[ Ed. note -Finally a top-ranking Russian official who seems to understand that Western leaders are not his “partners.” Russian General Sergei Rudskoi, as you will note in the report below, is calling US efforts at dividing Syria “utterly unacceptable.” ]

MOSCOW, April 4. /TASS/. The United States seeks to trigger a new large-scale all-against-all war in Syria, Head of the Main Operations Department at Russia’s General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi said at the Moscow Conference on Global Security on Wednesday.

“The United States is set to divide Syria. It has been laying potential groundwork for a new all-against-all war,” he said.

America is trying to create in Syria a quasi-state on the eastern bank of Euphrates having its own armed forces, Rudskoi assumed.

“Utterly unacceptable are the United States’ attempts at creating a quasi-state on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. We see that in these areas not only US-controlled bodies of power are being created, but their own armed forces formed,” Rudskoi told the 7th Moscow conference on International Security.

Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry said US army units in the Syrian Democratic Forces-held part of Deir ez-Zor province “resist the restoration of Syrian government institutions.”

The United States wants to maintain a military presence in Syria in order to establish control over oil fields and divide the country, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Syrian Arab Republic Mahmoud Shawa emphasized.

“The United States decided to invent various pretexts to justify keeping the illegal presence of their bases and troops on Syrian soil with the goal of establishing control and domination over oil fields and dividing Syria through the so-called federation project,” he said.

The Syrian army and the militants

The Syrian army has destroyed about 65,000 terrorists with support from Russia and Iran during the war in its country, Rudskoi pointed out.

“The Syrian government forces have liberated a total of about 113,000 square km and 1,245 communities from illegal armed groups with support from Russia and Iran. About 65,000 militants have been destroyed,” he said at the seventh Moscow International Security Conference that is being held on April 4-5.

In addition, 6,500 hectares and about 17,200 facilities were cleared from mines in Syria by combined efforts. Security was provided for more than 260 UN aid convoys.

Filed under: AngloZionist Empire, Russia, SAA, US Foreign Policy, USA, War on Syria, Wars for Israel |</s>A number of high-profile individuals are cited in Friday's action, including Putin's son-in-law, the chairman of state-owned natural-gas monopoly Gazprom, Russia's largest company. Also on the list: the secretary of the Russian Security Council, and the director of the national guard troops.

The administration stressed on Friday that the sanctions would hold until those individuals wielded their influence to curb the Kremlin's pervasive activities.

As a result of the sanctions, the Russian assets are blocked, and U.S. entities are barred from dealing with them.

"The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

Mnuchin cited a number of Russian activities around the world as support for Friday's U.S. action, including Moscow's occupation of Crimea and violence in eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's attacks against civilians, and Russia's "ongoing cyberactivities" and efforts to "interfere in the democratic processes of the United States and its allies."

"Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities," Mnuchin said.

To date, the Trump administration has issued Russia-related sanctions against 189 individuals and entities, including 136 sanctions related to Putin's actions in Ukraine, as well as sanctions related to Moscow's cyber campaigns, including its interference in the 2016 presidential contest.

A senior administration official who briefed reporters on the sanctions said that they had been carefully coordinated with American allies, particularly in Europe.

Tensions between the U.S. and Russia have soared in recent days after the United States and the European Union announced the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats in response to the poisoning of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil, allegedly orchestrated by the Kremlin.

The U.S. tossed 60 Russian diplomats, identified by officials as intelligence officers, and closed Russia's Seattle consulate. In response, Russia sent 60 American diplomats packing and shuttered the U.S. consulate in St. Petersburg.

The senior administration official, who requested anonymity, said Friday's action is not a direct response to the expulsion of U.S. diplomats or the attack in the United Kingdom.

The administration used a number of legal mechanisms in Friday's sanctions action, including the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA. After the measure was passed overwhelmingly by Congress in 2017, President Donald Trump begrudgingly signed it, but called the bill "seriously flawed — particularly because it encroaches on the executive branch's authority to negotiate."

At a White House press conference on Tuesday, flanked by the leaders of three Baltic nations, Trump once again said that "no one has been tougher on Russia" than him. Still, he has not directly placed blame on Putin for the actions of his country and recently invited the Russian leader to meet in the "not-too-distant future."

"I think I could have a very good relationship with President Putin. I think," he said Tuesday. "Possibly, I won't."</s>The United States hit seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials with sanctions on Friday for what it called "malign activity" around the world, as the Trump administration tried to show that President Donald Trump is taking tough action to stand up to Moscow.A dozen Russian companies owned by the oligarchs were also targeted, along with a state-owned arms-dealing company and a subsidiary bank, the Treasury Department said. Senior Trump administration officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back Russian President Vladimir Putin's government, emphasizing that since Trump took office last year, the U.S. has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions.Trump has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself, and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House. Still, in recent weeks Trump's administration has rolled out a series of actions - including several economic and diplomatic steps - to increase pressure on Putin and those in his circle."Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have," Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions are in response to "the totality of the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern" of bad behavior, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.The officials ticked through a list of activities they said had prompted the U.S. to act, including Russia's actions in Crimea and eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, cyber-hacking and attempts to subvert Western democracy.There was no immediate reaction from Russia's government.Many of the targets are individuals and businesses associated with Russia's energy sector, including those affiliated with state-owned Gazprom. Officials said the goal was to show that those who have benefited financially from Russian President Vladimir Putin's position of power are fair game for U.S. punishments, noting that many of those being sanctioned are closely tied to Putin himself.Also targeted is aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a figure in the Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Deripaska has been targeted with U.S. sanctions previously, but officials said those being announced Friday were more comprehensive.Many of the Russian oligarchs and politicians and affiliated businesses had already been identified by the Treasury and State Department as potential targets on a list that was compiled and published in January.The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them. But the administration said it would give guidance to Americans who may currently have business with them about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.The Trump administration used a variety of legal mechanisms to implement the sanctions, including the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Known as CAATSA, the law was overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump despite some objections. The law aims to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. election as well as actions intended to subvert democracy in Europe. The law also authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Iran for destabilizing activity in the Middle East and North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.Last month, the U.S. targeted 19 Russians and five other entities with sanctions in the first use of the law. The administration has also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian consulates in response to Russian behavior, including the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain that has been blamed on Moscow.</s>The US today imposed new sanctions on Russian oligarchs, including Vladimir Putin's son-in-law, and several entities accused of supporting and profiting from the Russian government's efforts to undermine western democracies.

The measures announced by the Treasury Department were also aimed at 17 senior Russian officials.

The state-owned Russian weapons trading company, Rosoboronexport, which has long-standing ties to and its subsidiary, were also trageted under new santions.

The Russian operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and elites, said as he announced the new set of sanctions against

The action targets Russian oligarchs including Kirill Shamalov, who married Putin's daughter and has amassed a fortune since they tied the knot in February 2013; Oleg Deripaska, a senior Russian who has been investigated for money laundering; and Suleiman Kerimov, who allegedly brought millions of euros into in suitcases, according to the Treasury Department.

The fresh sanctions are the latest step by the US against following the of a former Russian in England, interference in the US 2016 election and a cyberattack, said.

The Russian engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities, Mnuchin said.

Russian oligarchs and elites who profit from this corrupt system will no longer be insulated from the consequences of their government's destabilizing activities, he said.

In all the US has designated seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, 17 senior Russian officials, and a state-owned Russian weapons trading company and its subsidiary, a Russian

As a result, all assets subject to US jurisdiction of the designated individuals and entities, and of any other entities blocked by operation of law as a result of their ownership by a sanctioned party, are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from dealings with them.

Additionally, non-US persons could face sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for or on behalf of the individuals or entities blocked by the US today.

has contributed to the instability of the of through the sales and transfer of Russian-origin military equipment in support of Assad's regime, enabling to continue carrying out attacks against Syrian citizens, the Treasury said.

These attacks have included chemical weapons attacks, which claimed the lives of hundreds of Syrian citizens, it said.

The US identified more than 200 wealthy Russians, top officials and business leaders in January and later slapped sanctions in March on Russian hackers and agencies for interfering in the 2016 and the cyberattack.</s>The United States has imposed sanctions against Russian businessmen, companies and government officials, striking at associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for activities including alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The action, taken Friday under pressure from the U.S. Congress, freezes the U.S. assets of "oligarchs" such as aluminum tycoon Oleg Deripaska and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov, whose family controls Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus.

The Treasury Department sanctions on seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, plus 17 senior Russian government officials, are likely to complicate U.S. President Donald Trump's hopes for good relations with Putin.

"The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said in a statement.

He said Moscow "engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in Eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities."

Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's upper house of 

 parliament, said the sanctions were baseless and unfriendly, Interfax news agency reported.

The sanctions could potentially hurt the Russian economy, especially the financial and energy sectors, and are part of Washington's effort to hold Russia to account for allegedly interfering in the election, which Moscow denies.

Shares in aluminum producer Rusal were down 2.2 per cent on Moscow's exchange after the company was named on the sanctions list.

Russian state companies under the U.S. sanctions will receive additional government support, Interfax cited Russia's Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov as saying.

U.S. intelligence agencies say Russia used hacking and propaganda in an effort eventually aimed at favouring Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump's campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, something that Trump denies. Mueller has indicted 13 Russians and three organizations in his probe.

Trump has faced fierce criticism — including from fellow Republicans — for doing too little to punish Russia for the 

 election meddling, aggression in Ukraine, and support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war.

He angered many members of Congress by failing for months to implement sanctions on Russia that lawmakers passed nearly unanimously last year.

But pressure for Washington to take action against Russia has been mounting in a series of disputes reminiscent of Cold War tensions.

Putin's government was blamed for the poisoning of a former Russian double agent living in close U.S. ally Britain last month, and the United States and several European states announced plans to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats in response.

In February, the White House blamed Russia for the international "NotPetya" cyberattack, which has been called the most destructive and costly in history.

On March 15, the Trump administration said it would impose sanctions on 19 people and five entities, including Russian intelligence services, for cyberattacks stretching back at least two years.

Friday's sanctions were authorized by the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, known as CAATSA, which Trump reluctantly signed into law in August.

Under the law, the U.S. Treasury Department released a public list of 210 people, including 96 wealthy Russian businessmen close to Putin's government and network, who could be subject to future sanctions.

The oligarchs were not immediately sanctioned then, but the existence of the list — and a more detailed classified annex — created uncertainty over international business dealings with some Russian sectors.

Chris Painter, the former top cyber diplomat at the U.S. State Department, said the latest sanctions are unlikely to deter the Kremlin unless Trump formally condemns Putin.

Painter, who left government last year, criticized Trump's rhetoric toward Putin — including a congratulatory call last month when Putin won another presidential term in a widely criticized election.

"We need the head of our country saying, 'This is not going to happen,'" Painter said. "That's a critical piece."</s>The United States plans to sanction Russian oligarchs this week under a law targeting Moscow for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in what could be the most aggressive move so far against Russia’s business elite.

The action, which could affect people close to President Vladimir Putin, reflects Washington’s desire to hold Russia to account for allegedly interfering in the election – which Moscow denies – even as U.S. President Donald Trump holds out hope for good relations with Putin.

Trump has faced fierce criticism for doing too little to punish Russia for the election meddling and other actions, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller is probing whether his campaign colluded with the Russians, an allegation the president denies.

READ MORE: Why inviting Vladimir Putin to the White House right now is unusual — even for Trump

The sanctions, which two sources said would be announced as early as Thursday, would follow the March 15 U.S. decision to sanction 19 people and five entities, including Russian intelligence services, for cyber attacks stretching back at least two years.

While the steps were the most significant taken against Moscow since Trump took office in January 2017, his decision at the time not to target oligarchs and government officials close to Putin drew criticism from U.S. lawmakers in both parties.

This week’s actions will include sanctions against Russian oligarchs, including some with ties to Putin as well as to the Russian government, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the deliberations.

WATCH: U.S. hits Russians with sanctions for election meddling, cyber attacks

Four sources said the sanctions would be imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, also known as CAATSA, which was passed by Republicans and Democrats seeking to punish Russia for its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, involvement in the Syrian civil war and meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

U.S.-Russian ties have worsened with allegations, which Moscow denies, that Russia was responsible for a March 4 nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain. On March 26, the United States and several European states announced plans to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats in response.

READ MORE: Trudeau links Russians expelled over spy attack to Nazi smear campaign against Freeland

The White House and Treasury declined comment on whether they planned to impose sanctions this week. When asked about the issue, a senior U.S. official said:

“The administration is committed to implementing the CAATSA law as we have said many times. We published an oligarch designation recently and the secretary of the Treasury said further action would be taken. But at this time we don’t have anything specific to announce.”

Complying with the law, the Trump administration on Jan. 30 published a list of the heads of Russian state-owned companies and “oligarchs,” including such prominent figures as Alexei Miller, the chief executive of Gazprom, and Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Rosneft.</s>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States imposed major sanctions on Friday against 24 Russians, striking at allies of President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington’s most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for what it called a range of “malign activity,” including alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The action, taken under pressure from the U.S. Congress, freezes the U.S. assets of “oligarchs” such as aluminium tycoon Oleg Deripaska, a close associate of Putin, and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov, whose family controls Russia’s largest gold producer, Polyus.

The sanctions are largely a reply to what U.S. intelligence agencies say was Russian interference in the presidential election, although the Treasury Department painted them as a response to a series of adversarial actions by Moscow.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been under fire for not taking strong action against Russia after a series of diplomatic disputes reminiscent of the Cold War era and the sanctions could complicate his hopes for good relations with Putin.

Relations already had worsened in recent months as the United States expelled Russian diplomats over a poisoning case in Britain and imposed sanctions on Russians for alleged links to cyber attacks.

The latest sanctions are aimed at seven Russian oligarchs and 12 companies they own or control, plus 17 senior Russian government officials. They freeze the U.S. assets of the people and companies named and forbid Americans in general from doing business with them.

Trump has faced fierce criticism - including from fellow Republicans - for doing too little to punish Russia for the election meddling, its actions in Ukraine, and its support of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria’s civil war.

U.S. intelligence agencies last year accused Russia of using hacking and disseminating false information and propaganda to disrupt the 2016 elections and eventually try to ensure Trump defeated Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

In addition to Deripaska and Kerimov, other businessmen on the sanctions list include Viktor Vekselberg, key owner of Renova holding group who Forbes magazine ranks as Russia’s 9th richest businessman with a net worth of $14.4 billion. He is famous for bringing back a collection of Faberge eggs to Russia.

Also targeted is Kirill Shamalov, a minority shareholder with petrochemical company Sibur. Shamalov married Putin’s youngest daughter Katerina in 2013, multiple sources who were at the wedding told Reuters. After the marriage, he swiftly grew his wealth through investments in Sibur but unconfirmed media reports say Shamalov and Putin’s daughter have since split.

Deripaska and other oligarchs on the list were not immediately available for comment but a spokesperson for Deripaska’s industrial group Basic Element said:

“The Company regrets this development and is currently analysing the situation with its legal advisors.”

In announcing the sanctions, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, “The Russian government operates for the disproportionate benefit of oligarchs and government elites.”

He said Moscow “engages in a range of malign activity around the globe, including continuing to occupy Crimea and instigate violence in eastern Ukraine, supplying the Assad regime with material and weaponry as they bomb their own civilians, attempting to subvert Western democracies, and malicious cyber activities.”

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said, however, Moscow’s contacts with the U.S. government would not be brought to an end by the sanctions. Russia denies interfering in the U.S. election.

The sanctions could hurt the Russian economy, especially the aluminium, financial and energy sectors, and are a clear message to Putin and his inner circle of U.S. displeasure.

Shares in some Russian companies targeted by the sanctions plummeted but the broader market and rouble showed little reaction to the new round of geopolitical tensions.

Shares in EN+ Group, which was put on the sanctions list and manages Deripaska’s aluminium and hydropower assets, were down 19.7 percent on the London stock exchange.

Deripaska resigned as president of EN+ in February after he was one of dozens of billionaires placed on a U.S. government list of Russian oligarchs in January.

Rusal, a Russian aluminium giant also included on the list, fell 10 percent on the Moscow Exchange.

Douglas Jacobson, an attorney with Jacobson Burton Kelley firm in Washington, D.C., said that while the sanctions prohibit U.S. banks from helping the companies targeted on Friday raise capital, most other international Western banks also are likely to also follow suit.

“These companies now are radioactive,” he said.

Russian state companies under the U.S. sanctions will receive additional government support, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said, according to Interfax.

Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, urged Trump to set out steps “to deter Kremlin aggression” against the United States and its allies.

“Nearly 15 months into this administration, the American people and our allies are still questioning whether the president is willing to fully defend our democracy and our national security,” said Menendez, co-author of the law under which Friday’s sanctions were imposed.

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether Trump’s election campaign colluded with Russia, something that Trump denies. Mueller has indicted 13 Russians and three organizations in his probe.

Daniel Fried, the U.S. government’s former coordinator of sanctions policy under former President Barack Obama, said the sanctions list “is a solid piece of work.”

“It doesn’t do anything dumb, like go after Russian gas exports. It goes after oligarchs that deserve it,” said Fried, now at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, a former senior U.S. Treasury Department official, said the sanctions were significant, although there is more to do.

“I would hasten to say that Russia hawks may welcome this but wouldn’t find it satisfying. And by no means would this be the sum total of what the U.S. government should do to advance its concerns,” said Rosenberg, now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank.

Trump angered many members of Congress by failing for months to implement sanctions on Russia that lawmakers passed nearly unanimously last year.

But pressure for the United States to take action against Russia, especially from U.S. lawmakers, has been increasing.

Putin’s government has been blamed for the poisoning of a former Russian double agent living in Britain last month and the United States and several European states announced plans to expel more than 100 Russian diplomats in response.

In February, the White House blamed Russia for the international “NotPetya” cyber attack, which has been called the most destructive and costly in history.

On March 15, the Trump administration said it would impose sanctions on 19 people and five entities, including Russian intelligence services, for cyber attacks stretching back at least two years.</s>WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States hit seven Russian oligarchs and 17 Russian government officials with sanctions on Friday for what it called "malign activity" around the world, as the Trump administration tried to show that President Donald Trump is taking tough action to stand up to Moscow.

A dozen Russian companies owned by the oligarchs were also targeted, along with a state-owned arms-dealing company and a subsidiary bank, the Treasury Department said. Senior administration officials cast the penalties as part of a concerted and ongoing effort by the U.S. to push back Russian President Vladimir Putin's government and his inner circle, emphasizing that since Trump took office last year, the U.S. has punished 189 Russian-related people and entities with sanctions.

Trump has continued to avoid directly criticizing Putin himself, and recently invited the Russian leader to meet with him, possibly at the White House. Still, in recent weeks Trump's administration has rolled out a series of actions - including several economic and diplomatic steps - to increase pressure on Putin and those in his circle.

"Nobody has been tougher on Russia than I have," Trump said at a news conference on Tuesday.

Rather than punishing Russia for one specific action, the new sanctions are in response to "the totality of the Russian government's ongoing and increasingly brazen pattern" of bad behavior, said the officials, who weren't authorized to comment by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them. It was not clear whether any of those hit have significant, or any, holdings that would be covered and most of them were warned of possible penalties in January when they were identified as possible targets on lists published by the Treasury and State departments. The administration officials said Americans who may currently have business with them would be given guidance about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The officials ticked through a list of activities they said had prompted the U.S. to act, including Russia's annexation of Crimea, backing separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, cyber-hacking and attempts to subvert Western democracy.

There was no immediate reaction from Russia's government.

Many of the targets are individuals and businesses associated with Russia's energy sector, including those affiliated with state-owned Gazprom. Officials said the goal was to show that those who have benefited financially from Putin's position of power are fair game for U.S. punishments, noting that many of those being sanctioned are closely tied to Putin himself.

-Kirill Shamalov, who is reportedly Putin's son-in-law, married to his daughter Katerina Tikhonova, although neither Putin nor the Kremlin have acknowledged that she is his daughter.

-Igor Rotenberg, the son of Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putin's friend since they were teenagers.

-Andrey Kostin, named among government officials, heads the nation's second-largest bank, VTB, which is controlled by the state.

-Alexei Miller, the longtime head of the state-controlled Gazprom natural gas giant. Both Miller and Kostin are longtime key members of Putin's team.

Other oligarchs on the list include some top names on the Forbes' list of billionaires, aren't part of Putin's inner circle but like any other billionaire tycoons in Russia they vie for the Kremlin's attention to preserve and extend their business empires.

Also targeted is aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska, a figure in the Russia investigation over his ties to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Deripaska has been targeted with U.S. sanctions previously, but officials said those being announced Friday were more comprehensive.

Many of the Russian oligarchs and politicians and affiliated businesses had already been identified by the Treasury and State Department as potential targets on a list that was compiled and published in January.

One of those hit by Friday's sanctions, Konstantin Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, expressed surprise he had not already been blacklisted by the U.S.

"As far as I am concerned the only thing I'm surprised at is that this didn't happen earlier," he told the Interfax news agency. "I never made secret of my criticism of the U.S. foreign policy, and I will not change my stance."

The sanctions freeze any assets that those targeted have in U.S. jurisdictions and bars Americans from doing business with them. But the administration said it would give guidance to Americans who may currently have business with them about how to wind down that business and avoid running afoul of the sanctions.

The Trump administration used a variety of legal mechanisms to implement the sanctions, including the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Known as CAATSA, the law was overwhelmingly passed by Congress in 2017 and signed by President Donald Trump despite some objections. The law aims to punish Russia for interfering in the U.S. election as well as actions intended to subvert democracy in Europe. The law also authorizes the president to impose sanctions on Iran for destabilizing activity in the Middle East and North Korea for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Last month, the U.S. targeted 19 Russians and five other entities with sanctions in the first use of the law. The administration has also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and shut down two Russian consulates in response to Russian behavior, including the poisoning of an ex-spy in Britain that has been blamed on Moscow.

Matthew Lee in Washington and Vladimir Isachenkov and Nataliya Vasilyeva in Moscow contributed.
The United States imposes sanctions on twelve Russian owned companies, a Russian arms exporter, and a bank. The U.S. cites multiple reasons, including Russian meddling in the 2016 elections and military engagements in Ukraine, Crimea, and Syria, among others.