The Kremlin has dismissed a US indictment which charged 13 Russians with interfering in the 2016 American presidential election over a lack of evidence.

The indictment by a federal grand jury alleges that a wealthy entrepreneur with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin funnelled money to a so-called “troll farm”, which sent operatives to the United States, created fictitious social media accounts and used them to spread tendentious messages.

The aim was either to influence voters or to undermine their faith in the US political system.

Mr Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that while the indictment focuses on “Russian nationals” it gives “no indication that the Russian government was involved in this in any way”.

Mr Peskov insisted that Moscow did not meddle in the US election which put Donald Trump in the White House.