US sanctions Indian companies for ‘enabling’ Russian military
The US has announced that 19 Indian entities and individuals will be sanctioned for supplying goods and components that Russia uses “for its weapons systems to wage war against Ukraine.” Along with the Indian firms, hundreds of companies from other countries were targeted.
In a press release on Wednesday, the US State Department said that it was sanctioning India-based Ascend Aviation and Mask Trans for supplying aviation components to Russia, with Ascend Aviation allegedly selling some components of “US origin.” The directors of both firms were also sanctioned.
Two other Indian firms, TSMD Global and Futrevo, were also accused of “operating or having operated in the technology sector of the Russian Federation economy.”
The US Treasury Department also sanctioned 14 Indian companies for supplying “dual-use” components to counterparts in Russia. The term ‘dual-use’ refers to parts and tools with both civilian and military applications. Several of the firms named by the Treasury Department were accused of supplying circuit boards to sanctioned Russian companies, while others supplied ball bearings and milling machines.
The Treasury Department did not directly state whether all the parts were actually put to military use.
In total, the US State, Treasury, and Commerce departments sanctioned nearly 400 entities and individuals in multiple countries on Wednesday, accusing them of bypassing existing sanctions to supply Russia “with critical components that [it] relies on for its weapons systems to wage war against Ukraine.”
Most of the companies and individuals named are Chinese, while others are based in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, and elsewhere.
India’s Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the matter. However, China’s embassy in Washington called the sanctions “illegal and unjustifiable.”
“The US makes false accusations against China's normal trade with Russia, just as it continues to pour unprecedented military aid into Ukraine. This is a typical double standard, and extremely hypocritical and irresponsible,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Reuters.
The US has targeted Indian firms with sanctions on several occasions since the Russia-Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. In July of this year, three Indian shipping companies were blacklisted for allegedly transporting Iranian drones to Russia. Moscow maintains that it has not used Iranian weapons in the Ukraine conflict.
