‘US Expels Russian Diplomats, Imposes New Round of Sanctions’
Voice of America reported the following:
US Expels Russian Diplomats, Imposes New Round of Sanctions
April 15, 2021
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration on Thursday announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against nearly three dozen people and companies as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year’s presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.
The actions, foreshadowed for weeks by the administration, represent the first retaliatory measures announced against the Kremlin for the hack, familiarly known as the SolarWinds breach. In that intrusion, Russian hackers are believed to have infected widely used software with malicious code, enabling them to access the networks of at least nine agencies in what U.S. officials believe was an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at mining government secrets.
Besides that hack, U.S. officials last month alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president, though there’s no evidence Russia or anyone else changed votes or manipulated the outcome.
The measures announced Thursday include sanctions on six Russian companies that support the country’s cyber activities, in addition to sanctions on 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere in last year’s presidential election, including by spreading disinformation.
The 10 diplomats being expelled include representatives of Russian intelligence services, the White House said.
The White House also said Biden was using diplomatic, military and intelligence channels to respond to reports that Russia encouraged the Taliban to attack U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan based on the “best assessments” of the intelligence community. …
It was not immediately clear what, if any, other actions might be planned against Russia. Officials had previously said they expected to take actions both seen and unseen.
The sanctions, presumably intended to send a clear retributive message to Russia and to deter similar acts in the future, are certain to exacerbate an already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia.
President Joe Biden told Putin this week in their second call to “de-escalate tensions” following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine’s border, and said the U.S. would “act firmly in defense of its national interests” regarding Russian intrusions and election interference.
In a television interview last month, Biden replied “I do” when asked if he thought Putin was a “killer.” He said the days of the U.S. “rolling over” to Putin were done. Putin later recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.
It remained unclear whether the U.S. actions would actually result in changed behavior, especially since past measures by the U.S. have failed to bring an end to Russian hacking. The Obama administration expelled diplomats from the U.S. in 2016 in response to interference in that year’s presidential election. And though Trump was often reluctant to criticize Putin, his administration also expelled diplomats in 2018 for Russia’s alleged poisoning of an ex-intelligence officer in Britain.
U.S. officials are still grappling with the aftereffects of the SolarWinds intrusion, which affected agencies including the Treasury, Justice, Energy and Homeland Security departments, and are still assessing what information may have been stolen. The breach exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chain as well as weaknesses in the federal government’s own cyber defenses.
The actions would represent the second major round of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration against Russia. Last month, the U.S. sanctioned seven mid-level and senior Russian officials, along with more than a dozen government entities, over a nearly fatal nerve-agent attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his subsequent jailing. https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-expels-russian-diplomats-imposes-new-round-sanctions
Notice also:
April 15, 2021
The United States on Thursday imposed a broad array of sanctions on Russia, including curbs to its sovereign debt market, to punish it for interfering in last year’s U.S. election, cyber hacking, bullying Ukraine and other alleged malign actions.
The U.S. government blacklisted Russian companies, expelled Russian diplomats and barred U.S. banks from buying sovereign bonds from Russia’s central bank, national wealth fund and Finance Ministry. The United States warned Russia that more penalties were possible but said it did not want to escalate.
The Russian Foreign Ministry reacted angrily, summoning the U.S. ambassador for a diplomatic dressing-down to tell him “a series of retaliatory measures will follow soon.” …
Russia said Washington’s actions contradicted a stated U.S. desire to normalize relations with Moscow. The sanctions are hostile steps that heighten the countries’ confrontation, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-imposes-wide-array-sanctions-russia-malign-actions-2021-04-15/
More sanctions are not going to improve US-Russian relations.
Years ago, Russia began to take steps to try to protect itself, to some degree, from the negative effects of US sanctions. Notice, for example, the following:
14 March 2019
Leading Russian banks are working on plans to help each other retain at least short-term access to the global financial system in the event that they are hit by fresh U.S. sanctions, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank and others are examining how they can provide each other with access to U.S. dollars or other major foreign currencies by using so-called correspondent accounts, the sources said.
Banks access financial services in different jurisdictions and provide cross-border payment services to customers in various currencies through correspondent banking relationships.
The new scheme, which banks started to draft with Russia‘s finance ministry and the Central Bank last year, would be unlikely to work indefinitely but could help avoid a panic if one or several big banks are cut off from dollar transactions. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/03/14/russias-top-banks-plot-temporary-sanctions-workaround-a64812
The Russians also have their own alternative to SWIFT in place now.
Notice also that the Europeans were working working on an alternative to SWIFT the past several years:
The internationally acknowledged banking center has joined the voices from across Europe about creating an independent analog for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) amid US anti-Iran sanctions. Russia, which has already created its own system, voiced readiness to cooperate within a “euro-SWIFT” system.
Swiss Ambassador to Moscow Yves Rossier has affirmed that his country can join other states in setting up an independent alternative the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT).
“If there are any new developments in the financial sector, we will closely monitor them, but this is clearly a matter for reflection in the EU, not in Switzerland… But if a new payment system appears, every country will take part in it, including us, of course, why not,” the diplomat told Sputnik. …
The German government is working together with the EEAS and European Commission, as well as France and the United Kingdom, on maintaining financial payment channels with Iran,” the spokesperson noted, adding, “The negotiations on this are intensive and ongoing. There are different models under consideration,” cited by Politico.
Russia Ready to Join
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, commenting on the recent statements, has expressed Moscow’s readiness to cooperate within some kind of euro-SWIFT system to process operations among European banks and financial institutions, including oil and other resources payments.
«We are ready to join such offers. That’s why it seems to me that this would be a way-out and response to these restrictions the US is imposing on companies and financial institutions, using dollars for settlements,” he told the Russian broadcaster Rossiya 24.
The Brussels-based international interbank payment system SWIFT, created in the 70s, is now used by nearly 11,000 organizations in more than 200 countries. Criticized for sharing some information with the US government following the 9/11 attacks, the system in 2014 stated that it’s been put under pressure by some countries, insisting on its joining the sanctions against Russia. 10/05/18 https://sputniknews.com/business/201810051068629556-switzerland-eu-swift-alternative/
Brussels and European Union states seem ready to stage a battle with Washington over an obscure but important financial-service network—against Europe’s own interests.
The looming brouhaha concerns Swift …
Swift is particularly prone to U.S. pressure because the American financial system looms so large in the world. Swift’s board includes representatives of European and American banks, and many messages across its network travel to or from the U.S. Some Europeans believe Washington wields too much influence over a network they think should operate on a multilateral consensus like a financial EU. 10/17/18 https://www.wsj.com/articles/europes-not-so-swift-diplomacy-1539730896
Notice also two headlines from a while back:
Germany urges SWIFT end to US payments dominance
08/27/18 https://www.dw.com/en/germany-urges-swift-end-to-us-payments-dominance/a-45242528
EU Looking to Sidestep U.S. Sanctions With Payments System Plan
Currently, the USA benefits from most international trade as most of the time nations use US dollars for trade. Every time a nation stops doing that, or reduces doing that, it has a negative effect on the economy of the USA.
As I have written before, there is a price to pay for US sanctions and they do affect the dollar.
Notice also the following video:
US Sanctions and Tariffs leading to New World Order?
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said new US sanctions would be a declaration of economic war. Iran, North Korea, China, Europe, and Turkey are also upset about USA sanctions and tariffs. A Turk asserted “Somebody must find a solution and stop the USA.” The BRICS nations see US sanctions and tariffs as helpful to their objectives to trade without the USA. Are “unintended consequences” of USA policies threatening the current Anglo-American world order and leading to a New World Order? What has ‘Lord’ Jacob Rothschild and Russian President Vladimir Putin stated? Does Bible prophecy show that a confederation of Turks, Arabs, and Europeans pose a real threat to the USA and UK? Is the final time of the Gentiles coming? Will it be worse than people imagine? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more. Here is a link to our video: US Sanctions and Tariffs leading to New World Order?
So, yes, both the Trump and Biden Administrations have been inclined to impose sanctions. This is leading many nations to try to get around them and USA influence.
Furthermore, China also has been trying to come up with systems, including with gold backing, to avoid the US dollar (watch US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan).
The USA has been pushing countries away from its currency.
And while the Europeans joined in some of these sanctions, many in Europe do not like this and believe that the US has pushed them into sanctions against Russia (and Iran).
USA sanctions are pushing the Gentile nations to come up with something that the USA will not like.
The Russians have called US actions hypocritical.
The Bible tells of destruction coming to “an hypocritical nation” (Isaiah 10:6, KJV).
The USA does not seem to realize that it is undermining its position as the world’s primary reserve currency through its sanctions and other policies.
This is an unintended consequence of US sanctions policies.
The Bible points to the end coming to the USA (cf. Daniel 11:39).
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
The End of US Dollar Dominance Is the USA losing its economic status? What about the petro-gold-yuan? A related video is also available: US Dollar being challenged by Gold-Petro-Yuan.
Asia in Prophecy What is Ahead for Asia? Who are the “Kings of the East”? What will happen to nearly all the Chinese, Russians, Indians, and others of Asia? China in prophecy, where? Who has the 200,000,000 man army related to Armageddon? Here is a link to a related sermon: Asia in Prophecy. Two YouTube video are Is China THE Threat to the United States of America? and China: A King of the East.
Is Russia the King of the North? Some claim it is. But what does the Bible teach? Here is a link to a video, also titled Is Russia the King of the North?
Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? Is Ezekiel 38 about to be fulfilled? A related video is available titled Ezekiel 38: For Russia, Ukraine, & Iran Now? Another could be Russia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code).
Russia and Ukraine: Their Origins and Prophesied Future Russia in prophecy. Where do the Russians come from? What about those in the Ukraine? What is prophesied for Russia and its allies? What will they do to the Europeans that supported the Beast in the end? There is also a video sermon available: Russia in the Bible and in Prophecy and a video sermonette available: Ukraine in Prophecy?
Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God Simply calling oneself ‘Philadelphia’ does not make one so (see Revelation 3:7-9), nor does Gerald Flurry calling himself “that prophet” make it so. This article provides many quotes from this group which tries to look faithful.
Europa, the Beast, and Revelation Where did Europe get its name? What might Europe have to do with the Book of Revelation? What about “the Beast”? Is an emerging European power “the daughter of Babylon”? What is ahead for Europe? Here is a link to a video titled: Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European?
European Technology and the Beast of Revelation Will the coming European Beast power would use and develop technology that will result in the taking over of the USA and its Anglo-Saxon allies? Is this possible? What does the Bible teach? Here is a related YouTube video: Military Technology and the Beast of Revelation.
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
Can You Prove that the Beast to Come is European? The Book of Revelation tells of a beast power that will rise up. Some think that this must be Russia or could be Islamic, while others say that this power is European. The Book of Daniel tells of the rise of an end time King of the North that some think must be referring to a Russian leader, while others say that this power is European. How can you be sure? This YouTube video has all the scriptural proofs that you should need to prove that this power must be a European one.
USA in Prophecy: The Strongest Fortresses Can you point to scriptures, like Daniel 11:39, that point to the USA in the 21st century? This article does. A related sermon is titled: Do these 7 prophesies point to the end of the USA?
Who is the King of the West? Why is there no Final End-Time King of the West in Bible Prophecy? Is the United States the King of the West? Here is a version in the Spanish language: ¿Quién es el Rey del Occidente? ¿Por qué no hay un Rey del Occidente en la profecía del tiempo del fin?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies for the Great Monarch point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States? In the Spanish language check out ¿Quién es el Rey del Norte? Here is a link to a video titled: The Future King of the North.
The Great Monarch: Biblical and Catholic Prophecies Is the ‘Great Monarch’ of Catholic prophecies endorsed or condemned by the Bible? Two sermons of related interest are also available: Great Monarch: Messiah or False Christ? and Great Monarch in 50+ Beast Prophecies.
The Gospel of the Kingdom of God This free online pdf booklet has answers many questions people have about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and explains why it is the solution to the issues the world is facing. Here are links to three related sermons: The World’s False Gospel, The Gospel of the Kingdom: From the New and Old Testaments, and The Kingdom of God is the Solution.
Did The Early Church Teach Millenarianism? Was the millennium (sometimes called chiliasm) taught by early Christians? Who condemned it? Will Jesus literally reign for 1000 years on the earth? Is this time near? Two related sermons are available Millennial Utopia and The Millennium.
Does God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2028 or or 2031 or 20xx? There is also a video titled 6000 Years: When will God’s Kingdom Come? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
Might the U.S.A. Be Gone by 2028? Are there prophetic reasons to believe that the USA will not last two complete presidential terms? Yes. There is a tradition attributed to the Hebrew prophet Elijah that humanity had 6,000 years to live before being replaced by God’s Kingdom. There are scriptures, writings in the Talmud, early Christian teachings that support this. Also, even certain Hindu writings support it. Here is a link to a related video: Is the USA prophesied to be destroyed by 2028? In Spanish: Seran los Estados Unidos Destruidos en el 2028?
The Great Tribulation: What Happens First? What events have happened? What are some events that are now happening? And what events need to happen for the Great Tribulation to start? Here is a link to a related sermon video: Counting Down to the Great Tribulation. Here is a video in the Spanish language: Contando los eventos y el inicio de la Gran Tribulación.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2021, 2022, or 2023? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A related video is: 2021: The Great Tribulation or the Great Reset? Here is a video in the Spanish language: Es El 2021 el año de La Gran Tribulación o el Grande Reseteo Financiero.
Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction Can the USA survive two full presidential terms? In what ways are Joe Biden and Kamala Harris apocalyptic? This book has hundreds of prophecies and scriptures to provide details. A Kindle version is also available and you do not need an actual Kindle device to read it. Why? Amazon will allow you to download it to almost any device: Please click HERE to download one of Amazon s Free Reader Apps. After you go to your free Kindle reader app (or if you already have one or a Kindle), you can go to: Biden-Harris: Prophecies and Destruction (Kindle) to get the book in seconds.
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