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The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that it will step up its sanctions against companies and entities involved in Russia’s defense industry.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a statement that the US is targeting more than 150 individuals and entities that support Russia’s military and defense, saying the move will “further restrict Russia’s ability to wage war and thwart sanctions evasion.”
Specifically, the department said it re-designated nearly 100 major entities in Russia’s financial, defense and energy sectors, as well as sanctioning 15 new entities.
The sanctions will affect a wide range of companies globally, but particularly in China, which the department says is “the largest supplier of dual-use items and facilitator of sanctions evasion in support of the effort of war of Russia”.
“We continue to bring the tools available to disrupt Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine, together with the G7 and other like-minded partners,” Blinken said. “We stand in solidarity with Ukrainians in defending their homeland against Russia’s illegal war of choice.”
Under the sanctions, any company or entity that does business with parts of Russia’s military-industrial complex will also be at risk of sanctions. a senior Treasury Department official said the Associated Press.
The new entities were labeled as participants in a sanctions evasion scheme set up between Russia and China to avoid current sanctions.
“Today’s actions frustrate the Kremlin’s ability to circumvent our sanctions and access the assets they need to build weapons for their preferred war in Ukraine,” said Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo. in a press release. “Today’s expansion of mandatory secondary sanctions will reduce Russia’s access to revenue and assets.”
The announcement is just one of many moves the Biden administration has made in recent weeks before the president leaves the White House. It marks the latest move in an effort to push Ukraine and stymie Russia before President-elect Trump takes office.
Removing the sanctions would require notification to Congress, which could make it difficult for the Trump administration to change the sanctions without drawing public criticism, according to the AP.
The Biden administration has announced numerous sanctions on various sectors of the Russian economy, as well as allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an attempt to cut off funding sources for his war machine.
