(Washington) Washington announced Friday a new round of sanctions targeting 400 entities and individuals in Russia and other countries, including some 60 defense technology companies, including “products and services that enable Russia to support its war effort” in Ukraine.
“Russia has placed its economy at the service of the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex. The Treasury’s actions today are intended to confirm commitments made by President Biden and his G7 counterparts to disrupt Russia’s supply chains,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.
The sanctions target in particular technology companies involved in “supporting and developing the Russian defense industry,” including those involved in the development and modernization of its arsenal, but also “automation, robotics, online surveillance, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence (AI).”
They also target companies involved in the financial sector and providing software and technology solutions to the country’s banks.
Finally, it is about further limiting Russian access to strategic minerals and the mining sector, in particular iron, steel and coal.
The State Department also specifies that it is targeting Arctic LNG-2, a liquefied natural gas terminal project whose announced objective is to produce nearly 20 million tons per year, as well as the one planned in Yakutia, in the far east of Russia, whose expected production is nearly 18 million tons per year.
Among those targeted, around a hundred are based outside Russia, mainly in China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, and are accused of helping Russia and its companies circumvent sanctions already in place since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
The State Department also plans to focus more specifically on the targeted Chinese companies, around fifteen of which are accused of continuing to supply components to Russian industry.
Finally, a number of research institutes in Russia are also affected, including the Russian Defense Ministry’s research and development institute.
These sanctions result in the freezing of assets held directly or indirectly by the targeted individuals and companies in the United States as well as a ban on any American individual or company trading with the targets of these sanctions, at the risk of being sanctioned in turn.
They also close the doors of the United States to all of the targeted individuals.
Announced by the Treasury, they also involve the services of the Commerce Department and the State Department.