Alex Wong via Getty Images Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers speaks as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott W. Brady (2nd left), FBI Deputy Assistant Director Eric Welling (left), and RCMP Director General Mark Flynn (right) listen during a news conference to announce criminal charges Oct. 4, 2018 in Washington, D.C.

OTTAWA — There's a new fray in diplomatic relations after Russia accused Canada of joining an "international anti-Russian witch hunt" on Thursday. Russia has accused Canada of joining an "international anti-Russian witch hunt," a charge that represents a new fray in diplomatic relations between the countries. On Thursday, U.S. prosecutors announced criminal charges against seven Russian military intelligence officers for alleged hacking. Two of the targets included the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency based in Montreal.

RCMP cybercrime director Mark Flynn appeared at a Pentagon news conference and confirmed Mounties are conducting an ongoing criminal investigation related to the cyberattacks. Flynn said he was in Washington to show international collaboration "to tackle this problem as a global community." "We have to make the world borderless in the law enforcement context," Flynn said, defending the international collaboration. The Russian embassy in Ottawa released a strongly worded statement calling the charges and RCMP investigation part of a "brazen propaganda" campaign. "The recent round of anti-Russian witch hunt by the US/UK and their willing allies, including Canada, over alleged cyber attacks is nothing more than cheap spy fiction and fake news," it read. Moscow claimed the U.S., U.K., and Canada are using the hacking charges to "distract attention from NATO countries' expanding their offensive cyber war capabilities."

Read @RussianEmbassyC statement on cyberattacks allegations ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/a7oIfRPfKi — Russia in Canada (@RussianEmbassyC) October 4, 2018