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White House silent on possible sanctions against Russian military intelligence

Last week, outgoing US President Barack Obama told special services to investigate alleged cyberattacks against US political institutions in the run-up to the November 8 presidential elections

WASHINGTON, December 13. /TASS/. The White House refused to comment on media reports that the United States may impose unilateral sanctions against the Russian military intelligence over alleged cyberattacks against US political institutions.

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Analyst: US does not respond to cyberattacks ascribed to Russia

"Don't have anything for you on this," a White House spokesman told TASS when asked to comment on a CBS report, which claimed that Washington "is likely to impose sanctions on the leaders of Russia’s largest intelligence agency." The publication referred to the Main Intelligence Agency of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly abbreviated as the GRU.

Last week, outgoing US President Barack Obama instructed the country’s special services with investigating alleged cyberattacks against US political institutions that took place in the run-up to the November 8 presidential elections.

Russia has strongly denied all accusations. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov earlier said that Washington has failed to present any evidence of Moscow’s role in the alleged attacks.

Obama demanded that a full-scale report on the investigation be prepared before his term expires on January 20.

After Washington accused Russia of the attacks, senior US administration officials, including Vice President Joseph Biden and US Secretary of State John Kerry threatened Russia with retaliatory measures. At the same time, president-elect Donald Trump questioned Russia’s involvement.

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