The United States unveiled sanctions Tuesday on individuals and companies based in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and other countries, aiming to disrupt Moscow’s military procurement networks amid its war in Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported.
The latest actions take aim at people and entities accused of supplying Russia’s industry and furthering its ability to wage war against Ukraine, as fighting continues after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on more than 150 parties, while the State Department did so on over 100, including those engaged in sanctions evasion in third countries.
“Our sanctions today continue to tighten the vise on willing third-country suppliers and networks providing Russia the inputs it desperately needs to ramp up and sustain its military-industrial base,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a statement.
She added that the Kremlin “has steadily turned Russia into a wartime economy.”
These moves come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to Congress and the White House to push for more US military aid in battling the Russian invasion.
But the Republican Party is ever-more openly rejecting the idea of funding Ukraine, calling for more attention to domestic issues.
Complex networks
Treasury said Tuesday that the latest sanctions underscore Russia’s use of “complex transnational networks” to acquire technology and equipment needed for its war economy.
Among those targeted by the department was a network based in China, Russia, Hong Kong and Pakistan, allegedly “involved in the facilitation and procurement of Chinese-manufactured weapons and technologies to Russia.”
These include Chinese national Hu Xiaoxun and his China-based private defense company Jarvis HK Co.
Companies in Turkey and the UAE were also targeted, alongside other China-based entities such as satellite imagery firms Beijing Yunze Technology Co and Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co.
Both were said to have provided high-resolution imagery to private military company Wagner, said the Treasury.
Switzerland-based electronics exporter Thamestone and Singapore-based supplier Micro Electronics Technologies were punished as well.
The State Department’s sanctions also cover those bolstering Moscow’s future energy production and export capacity, it said.
And the department is “designating entities involved in the proliferation of military equipment and munitions” from North Korea to Russia, added Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to promote accountability for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and those who finance and support Russia’s war machine,” added Blinken in a statement.