There has been a major breakthrough in U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russian investigation: thirteen Russians have been charged with tampering with the U.S. 2016 election, the BBC reports.
Three of the named individuals have been accused of conspiracy to commit wire fraud while five have been accused of aggravated identity theft. Three Russian entities were also identified, including the Internet Research Agency (known for its Russian trolls and inciting ads on social media), according to Bloomberg.
According to The Hill, other individual charges include creating false U.S. personas, posing as U.S. citizens and U.S. identity theft.
"Defendants' operations included supporting the presidential campaign of then-candidate Donald J. Trump ("Trump campaign") and disparaging Hillary Clinton," the indictment reads.
“From in or around 2014 to the present, Defendants knowingly and intentionally conspired with each other (and with persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury) to defraud the United States by impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of the government through fraud and deceit for the purpose of interfering with the U.S. political and electoral processes, including the presidential election of 2016,” it continues. "Defendants made various expenditures to carry out those activities, including buying political advertisements on social media in the names of U.S. persons and entities."
Although this news is a breakthrough in the investigation, it is believed that this does not mark the investigation's conclusion. The special counsel still hopes to interview the president, and more charges could be on the way.