WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on over 400 entities and individuals for their support of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, said the State Department.
This includes sanctions targeting Chinese firms suspected of aiding Moscow in circumventing Western restrictions and bolstering its military capabilities.
The new sanctions focus on companies in China that have been involved in supplying machine tools and microelectronics to Russia. The State Department’s measures target 190 of these entities, while the remaining sanctions are being implemented by the Treasury Department.
In addition to targeting Chinese firms, the sanctions also address Russia’s energy sector and companies in Turkiye, and Central Asia that are believed to be helping Russia evade sanctions.
“Today’s actions strike at Russia’s core economic activities—reducing its revenue from energy projects and disrupting its supply of military materials,” said Aaron Forsberg, the State Department’s director for economic sanctions policy and implementation.
These sanctions follow Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which prompted a series of new US economic sanctions aimed at Moscow.
The conflict intensified on August 6 when Ukraine launched a significant offensive into Russia’s Kursk region. Despite recent Ukrainian successes, Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine.
Among the targets of Friday’s sanctions is the import-export arm of China’s Dalian Machine Tool Group, which the State Department claims supplied $4 million worth of dual-use items to Russian companies. While China maintains that it has not provided weaponry to Russia and defends its trade with Moscow, the US has also imposed sanctions on firms supplying components for Russia’s Orlan drones used in the conflict.
The sanctions aim to disrupt Russia’s future energy projects, including its $21 billion Arctic LNG 2 project, which has already faced limitations due to Western sanctions. Other targeted companies are involved in future energy projects and LNG shipments, such as the UAE-based White Fox Ship Management, which the US accuses of recently acquiring four tankers for transporting LNG.
