U.S. Condemns Russia for Cyberattack, Showing Split in Stance on Putin
By Mark Landler and Scott Shane at the N.Y. Times
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/02/15/us/politics/russia-cyberattack.html?action=click&module=In Other News&pgtype=Homepage&action=click&module=News&pgtype=Homepage
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NotPetya, which had the characteristics of a ransomware attack, had been widely identified by cybersecurity experts as coming from Russia, so the attribution was no surprise. But the decision of the United States and Britain to nearly simultaneously condemn the Russian military is noteworthy.
It underscores the dichotomy between the administration’s consistently tough stance toward Russia on issues involving Ukraine and President Trump’s continued reluctance to criticize President Vladimir V. Putin over anything else.
In December, the White House approved the sale of lethal defensive weapons to the Ukrainian military for its battle against Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine. Yet Mr. Trump continues to soft-pedal allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, even after the nation’s intelligence agencies concluded that it did — an assessment that intelligence chiefs reiterated in Senate testimony this week.
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Administration officials declined to say what steps the United States would take against Russia. But they could include both sanctions against Russian officials involved in the attack and covert measures — any of which would be likely to fray an already fragile relationship.
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