Russian intelligence officers subjected to US sanctions for election influence campaigns

The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that Russian Federal Security Service intelligence officers Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov have been sanctioned for their involvement in election influence operations in the U.S. and other parts of the world, according to CyberScoop. Sukhodolov and Popov have been accused of conducting a years-long initiative that involved partnering with U.S. political groups to spread disinformation to benefit Russsia's political agenda. Similar pro-Moscow propaganda has been distributed by Sukhodolov and Popov to achieve favorable election outcomes in Ukraine, Ireland, Spain, and the U.K., noted the Treasury Department. "The Kremlin continues to target a key pillar of democracy around the world free and fair elections. The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and todays action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government, including our democratic institutions and elections processes," said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson.