First charges filed

A Washington grand jury on Friday approved the first charges in the probe led by independent prosecutor Robert Mueller, CNN reported, citing sources briefed on the matter.

The approval of the charges -- details of which remain unclear -- would mark a major step forward in the sweeping investigation into potential links between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential vote.

A federal judge ordered that the charges stay sealed, the cable news network said, reporting that anyone charged could be taken into custody as early as Monday.

Reached by AFP, both Mueller's office and the US Department of Justice declined to comment on the CNN report.

Mueller, a former FBI director, was tapped in May to head the Russia probe -- one of several ongoing investigations on the matter -- shortly after Trump's shock sacking of then-FBI director James Comey.

That Mueller had impaneled a federal grand jury to investigate potential Russian meddling was seen as a step toward possible criminal indictments.

Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing but his abrupt firing of Comey is reportedly an area of interest to investigators, along with Trump's eldest son's meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the campaign and Trump's meetings at the White House with Russian officials.

Mueller's team has also scrutinised foreign lobbying done by Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Meanwhile, under pressure from an impatient Congress, Trump's administration belatedly published a list of Russian firms and agencies Friday to comply with a new sanctions law.

Trump had opposed the law, which restricted his authority to loosen measures imposed to punish Russia for its meddling in Ukraine and alleged interference in US politics.

But he begrudgingly signed off on the "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act" in August after lawmakers passed it with a veto-proof majority.

Under the act, the State Department was obliged to draw up within 60 days a list of contractors with ties to Russia's military and intelligence agencies.

On Thursday it finally sent the list to Congress, 25 days late, and on Friday it published it on its website.

The companies named include mainstays of Russia's export industry such as the huge military arms and vehicle supplier Rosoboronexport and iconic firearms pioneer Kalashnikov.

Appearing on the list does not mean that the firms themselves face sanctions, but measures may be taken against entities that conduct "significant transactions" with them.

Some of the firms and entities listed are already subject to direct US sanctions under separate laws or executive orders.