The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 22 people and entities across Asia, Europe and the Middle East that Washington accused of being tied to a global sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex.
The move, which comes as Washington looks to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, is part of US efforts to end sanctions evasion around the world and limit Russia's access to revenue it needs for the war, the US Treasury Department said in a news release.
“Russia’s desperate attempts to utilise proxies to circumvent US sanctions demonstrate that sanctions have made it much harder and costlier for Russia’s military-industrial complex to resupply [President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine,” Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.
Arms dealer Igor Zimenkov, his son Jonatan and companies connected to “the Zimenkov network” in Singapore, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Israel, among other countries, were hit by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control with financial penalties.
About 22 people and organisations related to the sanctions evasion network were named in the statement.
The network has engaged in projects connected to Russian defence capabilities, including supplying high-tech devices after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury said.
Washington also accused certain members of the network of supporting state-owned Russian defence entities under sanctions.
Mr Zimenkov has also supported the Belarusian military-industrial complex by enabling sales efforts in Latin America for a Belarusian defence entity under US sanctions, Treasury said.
The action, which freezes any US assets of those on the sanctions list and generally bars Americans from dealing with them, marks the latest round of sanctions Washington has imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, which has killed or wounded thousands and reduced cities to rubble.
Agencies contributed to this report
Russia and Ukraine conflict latest — in pictures
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A tank, seen left, fires a round in Soledar, a town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Tank fire in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters -
Firefighters work to put out a blaze at a Kharkiv fireworks storage site after it was struck by a Russian missile. Getty -
Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, visits his troops on the frontline in Soledar, Donetsk. Reuters -
A Ukrainian flag attached to a tank flutters in the wind in Bakhmut. Reuters -
A specialist from an emergency crew works on a residential building in Donetsk that was damaged in recent shelling. Reuters -
A missile fragment left by shelling in Russian-controlled Donetsk. AP -
Residents remove debris and carry their belongings out of a building destroyed by recent shelling in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters -
Ukrainian forces fire an anti-aircraft weapon as Russia's attack on the frontline city of Bakhmut continues. Reuters -
A car drives past a destroyed building purported to have been used as temporary accommodation for Russian soldiers, dozens of whom were killed in a Ukrainian missile strike in Makiivka, Russian-controlled Ukraine. Reuters -
The site of a temporary barracks for Russian soldiers in Makiivka, which was destroyed in a Ukrainian missile attack. Reuters -
A Ukrainian serviceman carries his injured comrade from the battlefield to a hospital in the Donetsk region. AP -
Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP
