Whereas, on January 6, 2017, an assessment of the United States intelligence community entitled, Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections stated, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election and warned that Moscow will apply lessons learned from its Putin-ordered campaign aimed at the U.S. Presidential election to future influence efforts worldwide, including against U.S. allies and their election processes ; Whereas a report of the minority staff of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate released on January 10, 2018, and entitled Putin’s Asymmetric Assault on Democracy in Russia and Europe: Implications for U.S. National Security assessed that the Government of the Russian Federation employs an asymmetric arsenal that includes military invasions, cyber attacks, disinformation, support for fringe political groups, and the weaponization of energy resources, organized crime and corruption. and that the Government of the Russian Federation will continue to develop and refine its arsenal to use on democracies around the world, including against U.S. elections in 2018 and 2020 ; Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues to undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine and threatens the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including by its forcible and illegal annexation of Crimea and its support for violent separatists in the eastern part of Ukraine; Whereas the Government of the Russian Federation continues to provide financial, material, and technological support to the Government of Syria, which has enabled the latter to acquire or develop a range of lethal capacities it has deployed against civilians in its territory, including acts that may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or other violations of international human rights law; Whereas the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act ( Public Law 115–44