U.S. Slaps New Sanctions On Russian Security Service, GRU, And 'Cyber Actors'

Two days before Russia's presidential election and weeks after Secretary Steven Mnuchin vowed the move was imminent, the United States Treasury has designated five Russian entities and 19 Russian individuals for sanctions under CAATSA and an executive order on "significant malicious cyber-enabled activities."

The targets include Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), and the GRU military intelligence service.

Additionally the U.S. Treasury targeted the Internet Research Agency, the prominent troll factory accused of spearheading election interference in the United States and other countries, and a number of entities and people connected to it, including its purported creator, Yevgeny Prigozhin, as well as six people who "act for or on behalf of the" GRU.

The Treasury Department statement says in a March 15 statement titled Treasury Sanctions Russian Cyber Actors For Interference With The 2016 U.S. Elections And Malicious Cyber-Attacks:

“The Administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin. “These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia. Treasury intends to impose additional CAATSA sanctions, informed by our intelligence community, to hold Russian government officials and oligarchs accountable for their destabilizing activities by severing their access to the U.S. financial system.”

Today’s action counters Russia’s continuing destabilizing activities, ranging from interference in the 2016 U.S. election to conducting destructive cyber-attacks, including the NotPetya attack, a cyber-attack attributed to the Russian military on February 15, 2018 in statements released by the White House and the British Government. This cyber-attack was the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history. The attack resulted in billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the United States, and significantly disrupted global shipping, trade, and the production of medicines. Additionally, several hospitals in the United States were unable to create electronic records for more than a week.

Since at least March 2016, Russian government cyber actors have also targeted U.S. government entities and multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including the energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors. Indicators of compromise, and technical details on the tactics, techniques, and procedures, are provided in the recent technical alert issued by the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It goes on to cite alleged Russian efforts to "destabilize Ukraine, occupy Crimea, meddle in elections, as well as for its endemic corruption and human rights abuses," as well as "the recent use of a military-grade nerve agent in an attempt to murder two UK citizens" as evidence of "the reckless and irresponsible conduct of [Russia's] government."

Sobchak Sobs In Latest Debate

Debate or debacle? Russia’s televised presidential debates have been little more than shouting matches mostly, but the latest edition may have taken it to new heights, or lows if you like.

Ksenia Sobchak, the TV personality that critics (including Navalny) accuse of being inserted into the race with Kremlin encouragement to lure supporters of the banned candidate and Kremlin gadfly Aleksei Navalny, was literally brought to tears when she was heaped with verbal abuse -- much of it from Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the bombastic leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Broadcast on state-run Rossiya 1 on March 14, Sobchak quit the stage toward the end of the program after taking the moderator to task and asking aloud, "Friends, why do you only interrupt me here?"

Mars Beckons A Fourth-Term Putin

Two days before his reelection, Putin promises in the second part of a hagiographic video profile (that also features a hauntingly kempt Silvio Berlusconi) to reenergize the space race with the launch of a mission to Mars in 2019 and exploration of the moon, Current Time TV reports.

Not The Onion.

AFP Moscow correspondent on Putin's Crimea speech:

It's The Onion, folks.

'Real' And 'Show' Democracy

Russia's embassy in South Africa quotes President Putin campaigning in annexed Crimea: "You showed with your historic decision at the 2014 referendum what real democracy is, as opposed to show democracy."

They did indeed, but it wasn't in the way that Russia's diplomatic account appears to be suggesting.

The United Nations overwhelmingly rejected the validity of the Crimean vote that Moscow organized under Russian occupation, passing Resolution 68/262, titled Territorial Integrity Of Ukraine, in March 2014. ​Here's the UN's press office on the vote:

In a vote that reaffirmed Ukraine’s unity and territorial integrity, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted a measure underscoring that the mid-March referendum in Crimea that led to the peninsula’s annexation by Russia “has no validity” and that the parties should “pursue immediately a peaceful resolution of the situation.”

And here's Moscow's take via Pretoria:

Raw Nerves Ahead Of Russian Election -- Even In La-La Land

The lack of any drama over the outcome of the election itself didn't prevent a Russian pre-election skirmish when Russian emigres confronted each other in southern California.

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Amnesty Warns Russia Is Escalating Opposition Crackdown As Election Nears

Amnesty International has accused Russia of mounting a "fierce crackdown" on political activists ahead of this week's presidential election, systematically violating their rights through "arbitrary" arrests and detentions.

The London-based rights group said on March 15 that Russian authorities are using a draconian law on public assemblies to "deliberately" target activists calling for an election boycott. In addition, many prominent opposition voices have been arbitrarily detained and charged with politically motivated offenses.

"The Kremlin’s agenda is crystal clear -- the loudest protesters and vote-boycotters must be cleared from the cities' streets during the final stages of the presidential campaign," Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

"While various methods are used, the authorities usually turn to their favorite one: arbitrarily throwing dissenters behind bars."

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Early Voting In Arctic Russia

Voting has begun in the flat, snow-covered expanses of the Siberian Arctic, home to the nomadic Nenets people who herd reindeer. These arresting images are from Reuters.

Russia holds a presidential election on March 18 but voting started early in the flat, snow-covered expanses of the Siberian Arctic, home to the nomadic Nenets people who herd reindeer.