Vladimir Putin ordered a campaign to influence the US presidential election, according to a newly declassified report by American spy chiefs.
The Russian leader and his government "aspired to help" Donald Trump's chances of winning by discrediting his rival Hillary Clinton, it is claimed.
Mr Trump unexpectedly beat Mrs Clinton in the election, but he has been sceptical of accusations that Moscow was behind a hacking campaign that sought to boost his chances.
The report from the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, said: "We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election.
"Russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency."
It made clear the Russian government had developed a "clear preference for President-elect Donald Trump".
Mr Putin most likely wanted to discredit Mrs Clinton because he blames her for inciting protests against his regime in late 2011 and early 2012, and because he resents her for disparaging comments she has made about him, the report said.
The report said Russian intelligence accessed "elements" of multiple state and local electoral boards, but "the systems targeted or compromised were not involved in counting votes".
US intelligence agencies also believe Moscow hacked into the emails of the Democratic National Committee and Mrs Clinton's campaign team and fed the material to WikiLeaks.
But the report claimed there were also targets associated with the Republican party.
Before he met spy chiefs for a briefing on the report on Friday, the President-elect dismissed the controversy as a "political witch-hunt".
Later, he said he had "constructive talks" with them and vowed to crack down on hacking.
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