Washington:

The United States imposed sanctions on hundreds of targets on Wednesday in new action against Russia, a sign that the United States will continue to counter the evasion of measures imposed after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The measure, adopted by the US Departments of the Treasury and State, imposed sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals from more than a dozen different countries, according to statements by the departments.

The action was the most concerted effort yet against third-country evasion, a State Department official told Reuters. It included sanctions on dozens of Chinese, Hong Kong and Indian companies, most of those countries hit in a single package so far, according to the official.

Sanctions were also imposed on targets in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Thailand, Malaysia, Switzerland and elsewhere.

The move comes as Washington has sought to curb Russia’s evasion of sanctions imposed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has killed or injured thousands of people and reduced cities to rubble.

“This should send a serious message to both the governments and private sectors of these countries that the United States government is committed to countering the evasion of our sanctions against Russia and to continuing to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine. “said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 274 targets, while the State Department designated more than 120 and the Commerce Department added 40 companies and research institutions to a list of trade restrictions for their alleged support of the Russian military.

“The United States and our allies will continue to take decisive action around the world to stop the flow of critical tools and technologies that Russia needs to wage its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine,” Treasury Undersecretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.

Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington Liu Pengyu said Beijing firmly opposes “illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions.”

“The United States makes false accusations against China’s normal trade with Russia, just as it continues to send unprecedented military aid to Ukraine. This is a typical double standard and extremely hypocritical and irresponsible,” Liu said.

The Russian and Indian embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Türkiye’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The United States has repeatedly warned against supplying Russia with High Priority Common Items: advanced components, including microelectronics, that the United States and the European Union consider likely to be used in Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The State Department official said there has been an increase in the export of such goods from India to Russia, as well as increased interest in taking action against companies that facilitate such activity.

A senior administration official said Wednesday’s action was designed to signal that the United States would take action against Indian companies if progress is not made through communication.

“With India, we’ve been very upfront and direct with them about concerns that we have about what we see as sort of emerging trends in that country that we want to stop before they go too far in the future,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

India-based Futrevo was among the companies targeted by the State Department, which accused it of being involved in supplying high-priority items to Russian drone maker Orlan.

The Treasury also targeted Shreya Life Sciences Private Limited, which it said since 2023 has sent hundreds of shipments of U.S.-branded technology to Russia, totaling tens of millions of dollars.

PORCELAIN

A second senior State Department official told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that more than 70% of high-priority goods arriving in Russia came from China, with an estimated value of more than $22 billion since the start of the war.

“That’s more than 13 times the next largest supplier,” said the official, which as of late 2023 was Türkiye.

Among those targeted Wednesday were companies based in Hong Kong and China involved in shipping high-priority items worth tens of millions of dollars to companies or end users based in Russia, the State and Treasury departments said. .

The United States also took action against a variety of entities supporting Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which is 60% owned by Russia’s Novatek and would become Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas plant. Novatek has been forced to reduce production of Arctic LNG 2, which had been planned to reach final production of 19.8 million metric tons per year, following a series of US sanctions starting in 2023 with additional measures in August and September.

But the United States refrained from using an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last year that threatened sanctions on financial institutions that helped Russia circumvent sanctions. The senior administration official said banking sectors had taken note of the authority and moved toward compliance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated channel.)