Russia warns response to US sanctions on RT will make ‘everyone shudder’
Moscow asserts that recent actions targeting the media network's senior editors are part of a broader "information campaign" ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Russia has vowed to take retaliatory action after the U.S. imposed sanctions on its state-backed media network RT, warning of consequences that would make "everyone shudder."
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Washington’s sanctions against RT's editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, and her deputy, Elizaveta Brodskaia, are part of an "information campaign" in the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election in November.
"This is the downfall of so-called 'liberal democracies' when authorities resort to such crude methods to influence their voters," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a statement on Thursday.
"There will be a response," Zakharova warned.
On Wednesday, two other RT staff members, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov, and Elena Afanasyeva, were charged by U.S. authorities for allegedly attempting to sway the upcoming election. They are accused of funneling $10 million to a Tennessee-based company that used social media to "create and distribute content to U.S. audiences with concealed Russian government messaging."
"This is a clear operation, an information campaign that was long in the making and timed for the final stage of the electoral cycle," Zakharova told state news agency Ria Novosti, warning that the response will be severe and "make everyone shudder."
"We caution that any attempts to expel Russian journalists from the U.S., create intolerable working conditions, or obstruct their activities in any way, including through visa restrictions, will result in symmetrical and/or asymmetrical retaliatory actions against American media," she added.
Washington has stated that Moscow, which U.S. intelligence officials claim favors Republican Donald Trump, remains the main threat to U.S. elections, despite the FBI's ongoing investigation into alleged hacking by Iran targeting the campaigns of both former President Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
The U.S. Department of State announced measures against several employees of Russian state-owned media outlets, labeling them as “foreign missions.” It also offered a cash reward for information on foreign election interference.
Additionally, the State Department added the media company Rossiya Segodnya, along with its subsidiaries RIA Novosti, RT, TV-Novosti, Ruptly, and Sputnik, to its list of foreign missions, requiring them to register with the U.S. government and disclose their properties and personnel within the country.
Russia's threat of a strong retaliatory response comes as most U.S. media outlets have reduced or withdrawn their staff from the country following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which was accompanied by a sweeping domestic crackdown on dissent.
Source: News Agencies
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