US imposes hundreds of sanctions on Russia, targeting Chinese companies | Wilnesh News

The United States on Wednesday imposed hundreds of new sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s efforts to circumvent Western measures, including through China.

The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on nearly 200 targets and the State Department designated more than 80 targets in one of the broadest actions yet against Chinese companies in Washington’s sanctions against Russia.

The United States imposed sanctions on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong after Washington repeatedly warned about China’s support for Russia’s military during a recent visit to Russia by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

China’s support for Russia is one of many issues threatening recent improvements in relations between the world’s largest economies.

“The Treasury Department has long warned that companies that provide material support for Russia’s war will face significant consequences, and the United States today implemented those warnings against nearly 300 targets,” Yellen said in a statement.

The Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said that the government supervises the export of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations, and normal economic and trade exchanges between China and Russia comply with World Trade Organization rules and market principles.

China firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions by the United States.

The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on thousands of targets since Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine. The war killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed cities.

Washington has since sought to crack down on evasion of Western measures, including imposing sanctions on companies in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Wednesday’s actions by the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned nearly 60 targets in Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Slovakia, which it accused of enabling Russia to “obtain much-needed technology and equipment from abroad.”

The move includes measures against a Chinese company that the Treasury Department said exported items used in the production of drones, such as propellers, engines and sensors, to a Russian company. Other technology suppliers in mainland China and Hong Kong were also targeted.

The U.S. State Department also imposed sanctions on four Chinese companies accused of supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, including shipping critical items to entities subject to U.S. sanctions in Russia, as well as companies in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia accused of shipping high-quality goods to Russia. amount of goods.

“Concerns about Chinese entities supplying Russia’s war effort are a focus at the highest levels of the Department of Defense and Government. The reason is simple: China is a major supplier of key components to Russia’s defense industrial base, and Russia is using a senior U.S. State Department official Said they were waging war against Ukraine.

“If China stops supporting the export of these items, Russia will have difficulty sustaining its war effort.”

The U.S. Treasury Department’s actions on Wednesday also targeted Russia’s acquisition of explosive precursors that Russia needs to continue producing gunpowder, rocket propellant and other explosives, including imposing sanctions on two Chinese suppliers that ship the materials to Russia.

The United States also accuses Russia Violation of global ban About chemical weapons.

The U.S. State Department has also expanded its targets for Russia’s future ability to transport liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of the country’s largest exports.

It named two ship operators involved in transportation technologies for Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, including gravity-based structural equipment or concrete supports to support offshore platforms.

Previous U.S. sanctions on Arctic LNG 2 forced last month NovatekRussia’s largest LNG producer has suspended production at the project due to a lack of tankers to transport the fuel.

The State Department said subsidiaries of Russia’s state nuclear power company Rosatom and 12 entities of Sibanthracite Group, one of Russia’s largest metallurgical coal producers, were also targeted.

Washington also imposed sanctions on Aeroflot subsidiary Pobeda Airlines.

The U.S. Commerce Department previously placed more than 200 Boeing and Airbus aircraft operated by Russian airlines on an export control list as part of the Biden administration’s sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The U.S. State Department has also targeted three people in connection with the death of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Died in Russian Arctic prison.

Russian authorities said he died of natural causes. His followers believe he was killed by authorities, but the Kremlin denies this.

Wednesday’s action targeted the head of the Russian correctional facility where Navalny was held for much of his incarceration, as well as the head of the prison’s solitary confinement unit and the head of the medical unit where he was imprisoned during his lifetime.

The State Department said officials monitor the cell where Navalny was held in solitary confinement, the walking compound where he allegedly collapsed and died, and Navalny’s health, including after his collapse.