Biden cracks down on Russia: NATO Allies support US action plan on Russia's "destabilising activities" [key points]

Many political pundits have seen sanctions against Russia coming. It's just that following the announcement by the United States of its actions against Russia, NATO Allies rushed to put things together on paper. In a statement issued on April 15, the NATO Allies announced their solidarity with the United States though.

What does the statement say?

Apart from stating that, "Russia continues to demonstrate a sustained pattern of destabilising behaviour," the statement goes on to list specific instances. Starting from Russian violations of Ukraine's and Georgia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the statement pondered the continued violation of international obligations and commitments by Putin's regime.

Budapest Memorandum specifically being a case mentioned in the statement, the statement moves on to every report and widespread evidence against Russian actions.

Russian interference in US Presidential election

An increasingly sensitive issue between the two nations, there was the expected mention of Russian interference in the US Presidential election. The statement also makes a note of, "widespread disinformation campaigns, malicious cyber activities."

In September, last year, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before Congress that Russia, "has made active efforts to influence US 2020 election."

On the SolarWinds Hack

The NATO Allies have also stated that "all available evidence points to the responsibility of the Russian Federation for the SolarWinds hack.

Considered one of the biggest cyber intrusion known till date, SolarWinds hack occurred in mid-December 2020 in the US. Among the affected US government agencies was the Energy Department (which controls the National Nuclear Security Administration).

The conduit for cyber intrusion (a must for any cyber intrusion to take place) was a software update, which was provided by a private company called SolarWinds. Hence, the name SolarWinds hack. FBI and the National Security Agency released a joint statement which said that Russia was 'likely' behind the attack.

The infamous attack on Alexei Navalny

It further reads: "We condemn the attack on Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition figure, with the use of nerve agent from the banned Novichok group. Any use of chemical weapons, under any circumstances, is a clear breach of international law and contrary to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Reports that Russia encouraged attacks against U.S and NATO forces in Afghanistan are also of concern."

Alexei Navalny, the 44-year-old lawyer and anti-corruption activist is one of the staunch critics of Vladimir Putin. Viewed as the only worthy and strong opponent of Putin, Navalny collapsed on an internal flight in Siberia due to poisoning by Novichok. He blames Russian authorities for the attempt to kill him. Russia has maintained throughout that it wasn't involved in the attack on Alexei Navalny.

What is Budapest Memorandum?

In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, three nations -- the US, Russia and Britain -- are collectively committed to "respect the sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine." They also vowed against the use of force or threat against the country. These assurances led the Ukrainian government to give up the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal.

After the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014, several other countries including the US and UK have stated that Russia has breached its obligations made to Ukraine under the Budapest Convention.

However, in 2016, at a lengthy press conference, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov justified Moscow's actions: "If you're referring to the Budapest Memorandum, we have not violated it. It contains only one obligation – i.e, not to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine. No one had made any threats to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine."

US imposes sanctions 

Long seen as forthcoming, last week the US announced that it had imposed sanctions against Russia in response to these cyber-attacks and several other hostile acts attributed to it. The sanctions also target 32 entities and officials accused of interference in the 2020 Presidential Election.

What does Biden administration say?

The sanctions are detailed in an executive order that has been signed by President Biden. "I was clear with President Putin that we could have gone further, but I chose not to do so," President Biden told reporters and also called the sanctions, "proportionate." He further clarified that "the United States is not looking to kick off a cycle of escalation and conflict with Russia."

Russia denies all the allegations and retaliates

While denying all the allegations entirely, Russia said that it will respond in kind. However, soon  Russia expelled U.S diplomats and banned several prominent US officials from Russia. Moscow also announced that it will block foreign naval ships and state vessels in the Kerch Strait and parts of the Black Sea. 

For now, the escalation of ties between the US and Russia are here to stay for some time.