<p>The White House on Thursday issued sanctions against Russia for its purported &ldquo;meddling&rdquo; in the 2016 presidential election and other cyberattacks, citing the Kremlin&rsquo;s official intelligence agencies as well as the individuals indicted last month by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. ;</p>
<p>The new sanctions show that the Trump Administration is &ldquo;confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,&rdquo; said Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin. &ldquo;These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.&rdquo;</p>
<p>The sanctions, which will affect 5 Russian entities and 19 individuals, specifically mention the devastating &ldquo;NotPetya&rdquo; cyberattack as well as the recent use of a nerve agent to attack former Soviet spy Sergei Skripal. ;</p>
<p>Trump has resisted ;punishing Russia in the past, and these sanctions likely went through in response to Russia&rsquo;s use of a nerve agent. Trump issued a joint statement with other world leaders condemning the attack. &#8220;It certainly looks like the Russians were behind it,&#8221; he said Thursday. ;</p>
<p>The sanctions will also affect Russia&#8217;s Internet Research Agency, which Mueller&#8217;s indictment claims led an operation to &#8220;sow discord in the US political system,&#8221; and its leader, Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin.</p>
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<p>The sanctions are limited in scope and will not affect Russia&#8217;s economy. They are primarily symbolic, but &ldquo;symbolism is important when it comes to sanctions,&rdquo; explains former Obama official Andrew Keller. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really the first statement of the Trump administration, from a sanctions standpoint, with regard to Russia&rsquo;s election meddling.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The sanctions also mark the first use of the<em> Countering America&rsquo;s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act</em>, which Congress forced Trump into signing last August. Trump signed the bill reluctantly, claiming it could endanger future attempts to improve relations with Russia.</p>