US slaps sanctions on Russia, expels 35 diplomats

US President Barack Obama has imposed sanctions on Russian officials and intelligence services in retaliation for Russia's interference in the US presidential election by hacking American political sites and email accounts.

The State Department also has kicked out 35 Russian diplomats from its embassy in Washington and consulate in San Francisco, giving them and their families 72 hours to leave the US.

The diplomats were declared persona non grata for acting in a "manner inconsistent with their diplomatic status."

Obama said Russians will no longer have access to two Russian government-owned compounds in the United States, in Maryland and in New York.

Russian officials have denied the Obama administration's accusation that the Russian government was trying to influence the US presidential election.

US intelligence agencies concluded that Russia's goal was to help Donald Trump win an assessment Trump has dismissed as ridiculous.

Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump said it was "time for our country to move on to bigger and better things." The Republican has refused to accept U.S. spy agencies' determination that Russia hacked to try to help his campaign, arguing Democrats are merely trying to delegitimize his election.

Yet in the face of newly public evidence, Trump suggested he was keeping an open mind.

"In the interest of our country and its great people, I will meet with leaders of the intelligence community next week in order to be updated on the facts of this situation," Trump said.

In a bid to expose Moscow's cyber aggression, the U.S. also released a detailed report about Russia's hacking infrastructure that it said was designed to help computer specialists prevent more hacking. And Obama said more action was coming.

"These actions are not the sum total of our response to Russia's aggressive activities," Obama said in a statement released while he was vacationing in Hawaii. The U.S. has previously left open the possibility it could mount a retaliatory strike.

The spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the new sanctions were a sign of Obama's "unpredictable and, if I may say, aggressive foreign policy" and were aimed at undermining President-elect Donald Trump.

"We think that such steps by a U.S. administration that has three weeks left to work are aimed at two things: to further harm Russian-American ties, which are at a low point as it is, as well as, obviously, to deal a blow to the foreign policy plans of the incoming administration of the president-elect," Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Ahead of the announcement, Russia's foreign ministry had threatened to retaliate against American diplomats if the U.S. took action against Russian officials.

The White House has promised to release a report before Obama leaves office detailing Russia's cyber interference in U.S. elections, a move that could address Russia's complaints that the U.S. hasn't shown proof of its involvement. But the U.S. moved forward with the response Thursday even as the report has yet to be released.

Still, Obama administration officials said the list of entities Obama was sanctioning made clear who exactly the U.S. believes was behind hacking of Democratic groups and the theft of emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman.

Obama ordered sanctions against two Russian intelligence services, the GRU and the FSB, plus companies which the U.S. says support the GRU. The cybersecurity firm hired by the Democratic National Committee to investigate theft of its emails determined earlier this year the hacking came from the Fancy Bear group, believed to be affiliated with the GRU.

The sanctions freeze any assets the entities or individuals have in the United States, and also block Americans from doing business with them. It wasn't immediately clear what impact they would have on the intelligence services' operations.

The FSB is Russia's main domestic and counter-terrorism intelligence agency. It was formed following the Soviet collapse when the KGB was split into the FSB and the foreign intelligence agency SVR. The GRU is the Russian military intelligence agency.

The president also sanctioned Lt. Gen. Korobov, the head of the GRU, and three of his deputies. Other individuals sanctioned include Alexei Belan and Yevgeny Bogachev, two Russian nationals who have been wanted by the FBI for cyber crimes for years.

Obama's move puts Trump in the position of having to decide whether to roll back the measures once in office, and U.S. officials acknowledged that Trump could use his executive authorities to do so.

U.S. allegations of hacking during the campaign have ignited a heated debate over Trump's approach to Russia and his refusal to accept the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia's government was responsible and wanted to help him win. Though U.S. lawmakers have long called for Obama to be tougher on Russia, some Republicans have found that position less tenable now that Trump is floating the possibility of closer ties to Moscow.

"While today's action by the administration is overdue, it is an appropriate way to end eight years of failed policy with Russia," said House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

Obama said the hacking "could only have been directed by the highest levels of the Russian government," a contention the U.S. has used to suggest Putin was personally involved.