U.S. sanctions Ukrainian individuals, entities over election interference

The United States on Monday announced sanctions against seven Ukrainian individuals and four entities, accusing them of interfering in the U.S. election, reported Xinhua.

The Treasury Department said in a statement that the designated individuals and entities were part of the Russia-linked foreign influence network associated with Andrii Derkach, who had been blacklisted last September for his attempt to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

The statement said Derkach and his associates "have leveraged U.S. media, U.S.-based social media platforms, and influential U.S. persons to spread misleading and unsubstantiated allegations that current and former U.S. officials engaged in corruption, money laundering, and unlawful political influence in Ukraine."

Among the blacklisted individuals, one is a current member of the Ukrainian Parliament, and three are former Ukrainian government officials.

"Russian disinformation campaigns targeting American citizens are a threat to our democracy," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement."The United States will continue to aggressively defend the integrity of our election systems and processes."

According to the statement, all property and interests of the property of designated individuals and entities in the United States have been blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from transactions with them.

U.S. officials in November said that the 2020 presidential election is the most secure election in U.S. history. "We have no indications that a foreign actor has succeeded in compromising or affecting the actual votes cast in this election," said Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf.