USA imposes hundreds of sanctions on Russia, focusing on Chinese companies – BNN

The US on Wednesday, May 1, imposed broad new sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s evasion of Western measures, including through China, the US Treasury Department imposing sanctions on nearly 200 targets and the State Department on more than 80 companies , which is one of the most extensive sanctions against Chinese companies as part of US sanctions against Russia, Reuters reports.

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

However, Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, stressed that dual-use export rules are being followed and claimed that trade with Russia is in line with World Trade Organization rules and market principles. The spokesman added that China firmly opposes the US’s “illegal unilateral sanctions”.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Finance imposed sanctions on almost 60 targets

Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Slovakia, accusing them of allowing Russia to “obtain critically needed technology and equipment from foreign countries.”

This included action against a China-based company that, according to the Finance Ministry, exported goods needed to manufacture drones, such as engines and sensors, to a company in Russia. Other technology suppliers based in China and Hong Kong were also targeted.

The State Department also imposed sanctions on four China-based companies accused of supporting Russia’s defense industrial base, including supplying critical goods to companies in Russia subject to US sanctions, as well as companies in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan and Malaysia accused of supplying high-priority goods for Russia.

In Wednesday’s actions, the Finance Ministry also cracked down on Russia’s purchase of explosives precursors, which Russia needs to continue producing gunpowder, rockets and other explosives, including by imposing sanctions on two China-based suppliers that send the substances to Russia.

As the US also accused Russia of violating the global ban on chemical weapons,

using the suppressant chloropicrin and other toxic agents in Ukraine against Ukrainian troops “as a method of warfare”.

“The use of such chemicals is not an isolated incident and may have been caused by the desire of Russian forces to push Ukrainian forces out of their fortified positions and achieve tactical success on the battlefield,” the State Department said in a statement.

It said it was sanctioning three Russian state entities linked to Moscow’s chemical and biological weapons programs, including a specialized military unit that facilitated the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops.

The State Department expanded the sanctions to hamper shipments of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG), one of its main exports.

Also, attention was directed to subsidiaries of the Russian state nuclear power company Rosatom, as well as to 12 companies in the Sibanthracite group, which is one of Russia’s largest producers of metallurgical coal, the State Department announced.

Washington also imposed sanctions on the Russian airline Pobeda, which is a subsidiary of the Russian airline Aeroflot.

The State Department also prosecuted three individuals in connection with the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Read also: EU introduces new sanctions against Russia

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