US sanctions Chinese, Russian companies over Moscow military aid

News Desk :
The US government on Monday imposed new trade restrictions on five Russian and 11 Chinese companies for, accusing some of supplying components to make drones for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

The Commerce Department, which oversees export policy, added a total of 28 firms, including some Finnish and German companies, to a trade blacklist, making it harder for US suppliers to ship them technology, Reuters reports.

Nine of the companies, including China’s Asia Pacific Links Ltd. and Russia’s SMT-iLogic, allegedly took part in a scheme to supply the previously blacklisted Special Technology Center with drone parts for Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU).

An investigation by Reuters and iStories, a Russian media outlet, in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank in London, last year uncovered a logistical trail that spans the globe and ends at the Orlan drone’s production line, the Special Technology Centre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The investigation found that Hong Kong-based exporter Asia Pacific Links Ltd. has been among the most important suppliers to Russia’s drone program. The firm, along with import company SMT iLogic, were the target of an earlier round of U.S. sanctions in May.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“We will not hesitate to take swift and meaningful action against those who continue seeking to supply and support Putin’s illegal and immoral war in Ukraine,” the Commerce Department’s export controls chief Alan Estevez said in a statement.

Another 10 additional companies from China, one other from Russia, five from Pakistan, two from Oman and one from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also sanctioned on Monday for their involvement in “activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy of the United States.”