UPDATE: US blacklists 9 Russian entities, officials, expels 35 diplomats

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MOSCOW, Dec 30 (PRIME) -- Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Mariya Zakharova called U.S. President’s Barack Obama a bunch of losers on Friday in the wake of new U.S. sanctions for hacking Democratic Party documents during presidential elections.

“We have been saying this for several years in a row: the people who resided in the White House for eight years are not the administration, they are a bunch of losers in foreign policy, resentful and dimwitted. Obama has admitted this officially today,” she said on her Facebook page.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called the new sanctions an “anti-Russian agony” of the Obama administration in his Twitter blog.

Washington slapped sanctions against nine Russian entities and officials over cyberattacks during the U.S. presidential elections and has declared 35 Russian diplomats non grata, ordering their expulsion until Sunday noon.

Obama said, “I have issued an executive order that provides additional authority for responding to certain cyber activity that seeks to interfere with or undermine our election processes and institutions, or those of our allies or partners.”

Obama said that the black list over the cyberattacks comprises Russia’s Chief Intelligence Directorate and the Federal Security Service, four officials of the services and three companies which provided support to the cyber-operations by Russian intelligence.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia categorically disagrees with the U.S. accusations, “We categorically disagree with any ungrounded statements, accusations which were addressed to Russia.”

Peskov promised a “due response,” adding that the fact that the administration of Obama will cease to execute its powers in three weeks will be taken into consideration.

Zakharova said that the official announcements and declaration of countermeasures will take place soon.

CNN reported that a shutdown of a school for children of U.S., U.K. and Canadian diplomats in Moscow was the first visible counteraction against the sanctions. The channel sources also said that Russia closed access to the U.S. ambassador residence on the Serebryany Bor Island.

Aide to President-elect Donald Trump Kellyanne Conway said that the administration of Trump may revise the foreign policies approach.

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