Barack Obama on Thursday said the United States would retaliate against Russian hacking after the White House accused Vladimir Putin of direct involvement in cyberattacks designed to influence the US election, informs AFP

"I think there is no doubt that when any foreign government tries to impact the integrity of our elections that we need to take action," Obama told NPR radio, reports AFP. "And we will, at a time and place of our own choosing," he added.

The Kremlin considers as ludicrous the media reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin allegedly personally influenced the results of the US presidential elections, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

These statements, like any nonsense, "cannot have any grounds," the Kremlin spokesman said.

"Everything we know about how Russia operates and how Putin controls that government would suggest that, again, when you're talking about a significant cyber intrusion like this, we're talking about the highest levels of government,"one of Obama's top advisers, Ben Rhodes, told MSNBC television.

"And ultimately, Vladimir Putin is the official responsible for the actions of the Russian government," he mentioned.

The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to Washington Post.

Trump, who blasted as "ridiculous" the CIA assessment, has continued to question Russian involvement in hacks of damaging Democratic Party emails.