A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry has heavily criticized the United States for their indictments of thirteen Russian citizens for interfering in the presidential election. The statement was one of incredulity at the accusation that a small group of people could have such an effect on the U.S. political process.
“13 people intervened in the elections in the US?! 13 against billion-dollar budgets of special services? Against intelligence and counterintelligence, against the latest developments and technologies?” wrote Maria Zakharova, director of the foreign affairs’ department of information and press, on Facebook.
“Absurd? Yes. But this is a modern American political reality,” she added.
Special counsel Robert Mueller accused thirteen Russian citizens of using U.S. social media platforms to foment discord, disunity, and ultimately, distrust in the U.S. political system during the 2016 presidential election. The defendants have been charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, and identity theft.
The Russian government dismissed the charges as noise a day after the indictments were announced. “Until we see the facts, everything else is just blabber,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a security conference in Munich, Germany yesterday.
Experts believe that by establishing that laws were broken, Mueller may have laid the foundation collusion charges to be brought against any Americans who aided or abetted the actions.