After President Joe Biden pulled the two warships headed to the Black Sea he signed an executive order to declare a national emergency over the threat of Russia on April 15. As a result, new sanctions were laid out on them and 10 of their diplomats were expelled citing 2020 election interference concerns and Russia strengthening their military forces near the Ukraine border.
The beginning of Biden’s statement said, “I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, find that specified harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation — in particular, efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners; to engage in and facilitate malicious cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies and partners; to foster and use transnational corruption to influence foreign governments; to pursue extraterritorial activities targeting dissidents or journalists; to undermine security in countries and regions important to United States national security; and to violate well-established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states — constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.”
In a phone call between the two nations on Tuesday, Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin, about the “United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
He also “voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, calling on Russia to de-escalate tensions.”
The SolarWinds cyber attack was also labeled as Russian interference by the Biden Administration during the election 2020 election cycle which is the reason why Biden applied the sanctions.
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said, “Today, we announced actions to hold the Russian Government to account for the SolarWinds intrusion, reports of bounties on U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, and attempts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. elections.”
The Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said, “We condemn any pursuit of sanctions, we consider them illegal. In any case, the principle of reciprocity in this matter is valid; reciprocity in a way that best serves our interests.”