Copernicus
Industrial Grade Linguist
Vladimir Putin no longer has a friend in the White House. He got away with four years of cyberattacks and meddling in our domestic politics, but now the chickens have come back to roost. There will also be actions taken that are not announced, but the public actions are fairly mild and targeted largely to the organizations and individuals that were most involved in the aggressive acts against the US. The expelled diplomats will be those involved in espionage activities, and the Russian companies will be those that played a role in the Solarwinds hack and election meddling. Russia will try to retaliate, but this is what Putin had to know would happen after his BFF left office. So Biden has left options for strengthening economic sanctions, if the aggressive behavior continues. The question is when and how the downward spiral in relations with Russia will end. Both sides will eventually have to find ways to establish a stable working relationship. Right now, that seems impossible. Biden has proposed a summit meeting to discuss differences, but Putin may not be ready for that.
See: US expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking
See: US expels Russian diplomats, imposes sanctions for hacking