WASHINGTON, March 15. /TASS/. The US administration has for the first time applied the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) to impose sanctions against Russian citizens and organizations. The relevant information has been spread by Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury.

The sanctions were imposed due to "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, " the Treasury said in the statement.

According to the Treasury, the cyber-attack was "the most destructive and costly cyber-attack in history" and resulted "in billions of dollars in damage across Europe, Asia, and the United States."

It also "significantly disrupted global shipping, trade, and the production of medicines" and several hospitals in the United States "were unable to create electronic records for more than a week," according to the statement.

The list includes 12 individuals who had previously been charged by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating allegations of Moscow's influence on the last election and possible collusion between Moscow and Donald Trump’s campaign

The list of those who came under restrictions includes: Mikhail Bystrov, Mikhail Burchik, Alexandra Krylova, Anna Bogacheva, Sergei Polozov, Maria Bovda, Robert Bovda, Jeyhun Aslanov, Vadim Podkopaev, Gleb Vasilchenko, Irina Kaverzina and Vladimir Venkov. Also two more Russian citizens - Sergei Afanasyev and Grigory Molchanov - have been added to the sanctions list.

The US Treasury also introduced restrictive measures against the Internet Research Agency. The US Justice Department accused employees of this Russian company of being involved in the election meddling in 2016.