Washington's latest sanctions announcement comes as US President Joe Biden attends the G7 summit in Italy.
The United States has implemented new sanctions against more than 300 people and companies accused of aiding Russia's war effort in Ukraine, including entities in China, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the moves target Moscow's remaining avenues for obtaining materials and equipment needed to sustain the war.
“We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia's war economy and eliminating avenues of evasion, and decreasing Russia's ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software and IT services. “Every day, Russia continues to mortgage its future to sustain its unjust war of choice against Ukraine,” Yellen said in a statement.
In remarks carried by Russia's state-run TASS news agency, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow “would not leave such aggressive actions without a response.”
The targeted entities include the Moscow Exchange, which runs Russia's largest public markets for stocks and foreign exchange products, the United Arab Emirates-based Red Coast Metals Trading, and Chinese companies Hangzhou Keming Intelligent Technology and Shandong Oree. Laser Technology.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters earlier in the week that Washington would “confront China's non-trade policies that are causing harmful effects on the world.”
China has forged closer ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine, but has repeatedly denied supplying weapons to Moscow.
Under the latest measures, Washington will also expand its definition of a “military-industrial base” to apply so-called secondary sanctions to foreign financial institutions that do business with any sanctioned entity.
The US Commerce Department separately announced that it had blacklisted eight addresses in Hong Kong in a bid to disrupt shell companies believed to be diverting semiconductors to Russia.
The announcement of the latest sanctions came as US President Joe Biden arrived in Italy to participate in the annual G7 summit.
The summit, which brings together leaders of major economies including the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan, is expected to focus on ways to bolster support for Ukraine and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza.
