US President Donald Trump first admitted that in 2018 he authorized a secret cyberattack on Russia’s Internet Research Agency, which the US believes was the initiator of Russia's intervention in the US elections in 2016 and 2018.

His remarks came in an interview with the Washington Post.

Trump said in 2016 Obama “knew before the election that Russia was playing around. Or, he was told. Whether or not it was so or not, who knows? And he said nothing. And the reason he said nothing was that he didn’t want to touch it because he thought [Hillary Clinton] was winning because he read phony polls. So, he thought she was going to win. And we had the silent majority that said, ‘No, we like Trump.’ ”

Trump said he took appropriate action based on intelligence information provided to him about Russian interference in the elections, striking its cyber capabilities.

“Look, we stopped it,” the president said.

According to Trump, this cyber attack fits into the country's broader policy of countering Russia around the world.