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The Biden administration on Thursday announced the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats and sanctions against dozens of people and companies as it moved to hold the Kremlin accountable for interference in last year鈥檚 presidential election and the hacking of federal agencies.

The actions, foreshadowed for weeks by the administration, represent the first retaliatory measures announced against the Kremlin for the hack, familiarly known as the SolarWinds breach. In that intrusion, Russian hackers are believed to have infected widely used software with malicious code, enabling them to access the networks of at least nine agencies in what United States officials believe was an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at mining government secrets.

Besides that hack, U.S. officials last month alleged that Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized influence operations to help Donald Trump in his unsuccessful bid for reelection as president, though there鈥檚 no evidence Russia or anyone else changed votes or manipulated the outcome.

Russia swiftly denounced the actions and warned of retaliation.

The measures announced Thursday include sanctions on six Russian companies that support the country鈥檚 cyber activities, in addition to sanctions on 32 individuals and entities accused of attempting to interfere in last year鈥檚 presidential election, including by spreading disinformation. The U.S. also sanctioned eight people and entities tied to Russia鈥檚 occupation of Crimea.

The 10 diplomats being expelled include representatives of Russian intelligence services, the Biden administration said.

The sanctions also target Moscow鈥檚 ability to borrow money by prohibiting U.S. financial institutions from buying Russian bonds directly from Russian institutions.

Other measures are expected as well, though the administration is not likely to announce them. Officials have been advising that their response to Russia would be in ways both seen and unseen.

鈥淭hese actions are intended to hold Russia to account for its reckless actions. We will act firmly in response to Russian actions that cause harm to us or our allies and partners,鈥� Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

But, he added, 鈥淲here possible, the United States will also seek opportunities for cooperation with Russia, with the goal of building a more stable and predictable relationship consistent with U.S. interests.鈥�

The White House also said President Joe Biden was using diplomatic, military, and intelligence channels to respond to reports that Russia encouraged the Taliban to attack U.S. and allied troops in Afghanistan based on the 鈥渂est assessments鈥� of the intelligence community.

Reports of alleged 鈥渂ounties鈥� surfaced last year, with the Trump administration coming under fire for not raising the issue directly with Russia. The White House did not publicly confirm the reports. 鈥淭he safety and well-being of U.S. military personnel, and that of our allies and partners, is an absolute priority of the United States,鈥� the White House said Thursday.

After the sanctions were announced, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that 鈥渟uch aggressive behavior will undoubtedly trigger a resolute retaliation.鈥�

鈥淲ashington should realize that it will have to pay a price for the degradation of the bilateral ties,鈥� Ms. Zakharova said, adding that 鈥渢he responsibility for that will fully lie with the United States.鈥�

She said the ministry has summoned the U.S. ambassador for a 鈥渉ard conversation,鈥� but wouldn鈥檛 immediately say what action Russia will take.

The sanctions send a clear retributive message to Russia and are aimed at serving as a deterrent. But they are certain to exacerbate an already tense relationship between the U.S. and Russia.

Mr. Biden told Mr. Putin this week in their second call to 鈥渄e-escalate tensions鈥� following a Russian military buildup on Ukraine鈥檚 border, and said the U.S. would 鈥渁ct firmly in defense of its national interests鈥� regarding Russian intrusions and election interference.

In a television interview last month, Mr. Biden replied 鈥淚 do鈥� when asked if he thought Mr. Putin was a 鈥渒iller.鈥� He said the days of the U.S. 鈥渞olling over鈥� to Mr. Putin were done. Mr. Putin later recalled his ambassador to the U.S. and pointed at the U.S. history of slavery and slaughtering Native Americans and the atomic bombing of Japan in World War II.

It remained unclear whether the U.S. actions would actually result in changed behavior, especially since past measures by the U.S. have failed to bring an end to Russian hacking. The Obama administration expelled diplomats from the U.S. in 2016 in response to interference in that year鈥檚 presidential election. And though Mr. Trump was often reluctant to criticize Mr. Putin, his administration also expelled diplomats in 2018 for Russia鈥檚 alleged poisoning of an ex-intelligence officer in Britain.

U.S. officials are still grappling with the aftereffects of the SolarWinds intrusion, which affected agencies including the Treasury, Justice, Energy, and Homeland Security departments, and are still assessing what information may have been stolen. The breach exposed vulnerabilities in supply chains as well as weaknesses in the federal government鈥檚 own cyber defenses.

The actions would represent the second major round of sanctions imposed by the Biden administration against Russia. Last month, the U.S. sanctioned seven mid-level and senior Russian officials, along with more than a dozen government entities, over a nearly fatal nerve-agent attack on opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his subsequent jailing.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Associated Press writer Zeke Miller in Washington, Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, and AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Kabul contributed.