The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on hundreds of targets in fresh action against Russia, a signal the US will continue to counter evasion of its measures imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the West should admit Russia had “won” in Georgia and was on its way to doing the same in Moldova unless Western rhetoric against crossing Moscow’s red lines was dropped.
North Korea is likely to seek tactical nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology from Russia in exchange for its deployment to aid Moscow’s war with Ukraine, South Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said on Wednesday, calling it a dangerous escalation.
US cracks down on Russian sanctions evasion in new action
The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday on hundreds of targets in fresh action against Russia, a signal that the US will continue to counter evasion of its measures imposed over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The action, taken by the US Treasury and State Department, imposed sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals from more than a dozen different countries, according to statements from the departments.
The action was the most concerted push so far against third-country evasion, a State Department official told Reuters. It included sanctions on dozens of Chinese, Hong Kong and Indian companies, the most from those countries to be hit in one package so far, according to the official.
Also hit with sanctions were targets in Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, Switzerland and elsewhere.
The action comes as Washington has sought to curb Russia’s evasion of the sanctions imposed after its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which has killed or wounded hundreds of thousands and reduced cities to rubble.
“This should send a serious message to both the governments and the private sectors of these countries that the US government is committed to countering the evasion of our sanctions against Russia and to continue putting pressure on 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 trade restriction list over their alleged support of the Russian military.
“The United States and our allies will continue to take decisive action across the globe to stop the flow of critical tools and technologies that Russia needs to wage its illegal and immoral war against Ukraine,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement.
China’s Washington embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said Beijing was firmly opposed to “illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions”.
“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 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. Turkey’s government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US has repeatedly warned against supplying Russia with Common High Priority Items – advanced components including microelectronics deemed by the US and European Union as likely to be used for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The State Department official said there had been an increase in the export of such goods from India to Russia, as well as increased interest in taking action against the companies facilitating such activity.
A senior administration official said Wednesday’s action was designed to signal that the US would take action against Indian companies if progress was not made through communication.
“With India, we have been very direct and blunt with them about the concerns we have about what we see as sort of emerging trends in that country that we want to stop before they get too far down the road,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
India-based Futrevo was among the companies targeted by the State Department, which accused it of being involved in the supply of high-priority items to the Russia-based manufacturer of Orlan drones.
The Treasury also targeted Shreya Life Sciences Private Limited, which it said since 2023 had sent hundreds of shipments of US-trademarked technology to Russia, valued at tens of millions of dollars.
A second senior State Department official told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that more than 70% of the high-priority goods getting to Russia were from China, more than an estimated $22-billion worth since the start of the war.
“That’s over 13 times the next largest supplier,” the official said, which as of the end of 2023 was Turkey.
Among those targeted on Wednesday were Hong Kong and China-based companies involved in the shipment of tens of millions of dollars worth of high-priority items to Russia-based companies or end-users, the State and Treasury departments said.
The US also took action on a variety of entities supporting Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project, which is 60% owned by Russia’s Novatek and was to become Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas plant.
Novatek has been forced to scale back Arctic LNG 2, which had been planned to reach an eventual output of 19.8 million metric tons per year, following a raft of US sanctions starting in 2023 with additional measures in August and September.
But the US held back from using an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last year that threatened penalties for financial institutions that helped Russia circumvent sanctions. The senior administration official said banking sectors had taken notice of the authority and moved towards compliance.
Zelensky says Russia won in Georgia and is winning in Moldova
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the West should admit Russia had “won” in Georgia and was on its way to doing the same in Moldova unless Western rhetoric against crossing Moscow’s red lines was dropped.
Georgia’s parliamentary election on Saturday was marred by reports of election violations. The opposition contested its outcome and Western allies said reported irregularities should be investigated. The governing pro-Russian party says it won.
“We have to recognise in Georgia for today Russia won. First, they took part of Georgia, then they changed policy, the government. And now (Georgia) has a pro-Russian government,” Zelensky said in English in a video released on Wednesday.
Another former Soviet republic, Ukraine’s neighbour Moldova, will hold a presidential election runoff on Sunday after the pro-European incumbent failed to secure more than 50% of the vote.
The first round was held simultaneously with a referendum on enshrining Moldova’s aspirations to join the European Union in the constitution. It was won by only a slim margin.
The votes in both Georgia and Moldova were closely watched in the West and were widely seen as a choice between the countries taking a European path or turning back to Russia’s orbit.
Zelensky suggested that Russia was “on the way” to implementing a scenario in Moldova similar to the one in Georgia.
“And they will do, if of course the West will not stop dialogue (against) crossing of red lines. If they will not stop this, just continue this rhetoric – they will lose Moldova. One-two years,” Zelensky said.
North Korea may seek Russian ICBM, nuclear weapons technology – South Korea
North Korea is likely to seek tactical nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missile technology from Russia in exchange for its deployment to aid Moscow’s war with Ukraine, South Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said on Wednesday, calling it a dangerous escalation.
“There is a high chance that they would, in exchange for their deployment, North Korea is very likely to ask for technology transfers in diverse areas,” Kim said, listing tactical nuclear weaponry, intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine technology.
Kim and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, speaking at the Pentagon, both called for North Korea to withdraw its troops.
North Korean and Russian foreign ministers to meet amid Western concerns
North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui will hold strategic consultations in Moscow with her Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Russia said on Wednesday, amid growing Western concern that North Korea may be about to join the Ukraine war on Russia’s side.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, told a press briefing the North Korean minister was on her way to Moscow and that details of her talks with Lavrov, including the timing, would be released later.
Choe arrived in Russia’s far east on Tuesday on her way to Moscow, Russian state media said. The visit, her second to Russia in six weeks, comes as the Russia-Ukraine war appears to have taken a dangerous new turn, with Nato and South Korea expressing alarm that North Korean troops could soon be entering the conflict to support Moscow.
The United States and Nato say some North Korean soldiers are in the Kursk region, a Russian border area where Ukrainian forces staged a major incursion in August and hold hundreds of square kilometres of territory. A couple of thousand more North Korean troops were heading there, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
US President Joe Biden has described the North Korean deployment as “very dangerous” and said Ukraine should strike back against North Korean troops “if they cross into Ukraine”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not denied the presence of North Korean troops in Russia. Moscow says it has every right to develop its relations with Pyongyang as it sees fit, including under the terms of a mutual defence clause agreed earlier this year.
Asked if Choe’s visit was related to the Ukraine war, ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said it was part of a developing foreign policy dialogue between two friendly neighbouring countries.
“This is normal diplomacy. This should not raise questions for anyone,” she said.
North Korea has been under UN sanctions for its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes since 2006, but Russia last March vetoed the annual renewal of a panel of experts monitoring their enforcement.
Asked if Russia would withdraw from the UN sanctions, Zakharova said the situation was developing and Moscow was “drawing conclusions”.
She said, however, that the sanctions had failed to resolve tensions on the Korean peninsula and had been turned into a “blunt weapon” against Pyongyang by the United States and its allies.
Slovak PM Fico draws criticism after Russian TV appearance
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico told Russian television on Wednesday he wanted to visit Moscow for next year’s World War 2 anniversary and criticised the European Union’s approach to the Ukraine war, in remarks that stirred opposition ire at home.
His appearance on state-run Rossiya-1 television, which Slovak media said was the first by an EU leader since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, drew strong criticism at home and highlighted Slovakia’s foreign policy shift under Fico.
Fico’s leftist-nationalist government immediately halted military supplies to Kyiv after taking office a year ago and has argued that weapons deliveries are prolonging the conflict.
Fico has also sought to maintain relations with Russia while the EU has mostly looked to isolate Moscow.
In his interview with pro-Kremlin TV commentator Olga Skabeyeva, Fico said he would like to visit the 9 May Victory Day celebrations next year and said Kyiv’s plan for peace was no longer viable.
“It’s no longer some kind of peace formula, it suddenly, unexpectedly started to be called a victory plan,” Fico said in comments translated into Russian.
“If someone wants an escalation of tensions, then this is exactly what he will say: Give me nuclear weapons on the ground, give me long- and medium-range missiles, and we will use them against Russian targets.”
Ukraine earlier this month said it was not considering developing nuclear weapons, after reports on the topic were driven by an incorrect interpretation of remarks made by Zelensky following his account of a meeting he had in September with US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in New York. In the meeting, he made the case for Ukraine to join Nato.
Slovak opposition parties criticised Fico’s remarks.
“At home, his patchwork (government) is falling apart, healthcare is not a topic for the premier, but he will find time to serve (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Michal Simecka, chief of the biggest opposition party in parliament, said.
“It is a huge disgrace.”
Finland orders confiscation of $4.25bn in Russian assets in Naftogaz case
A Finnish court has ordered $4.25-billion in assets owned by Russia in Finland to be confiscated at the request of Ukrainian state firm Naftogaz, a court document showed, and the Finnish Enforcement Authority said it is executing the order.
Naftogaz has been pursuing legal action against Russia since 2016 to seek compensation for Moscow’s expropriation of Naftogaz property when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The Kremlin had said on Tuesday it would contest the confiscation in court and defend its property interests, and on Wednesday summoned the Finnish ambassador to protest, demanding that Finland review the situation.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement it had demanded Finland revise the decision.
“It was underlined to the (Finnish) ambassador that otherwise Helsinki would be responsible for the consequences of the Finnish authorities’ actions. If necessary, the Russian side will take retaliatory measures,” Moscow said.
A tribunal in The Hague in April 2023 ordered Russia to pay Naftogaz $4.22-billion plus interest and legal costs to compensate for assets it seized in Crimea, but Moscow has not done so.
The District Court of Helsinki on 13 August ordered Russian Federation assets in Finland worth up to $4.25-billion to be confiscated to secure Naftogaz Group’s receivables, a court decision seen by Reuters showed.
Finland’s National Enforcement Authority said it had executed the court order by confiscating and freezing Russian assets, without immediately providing details on the assets.
“The value of the assets subject to the measures is significant,” chief district bailiff Aki Virtanen told Reuters by email.
On Sunday, Naftogaz said the assets frozen by Finland included “real estate and other assets valued in the tens of millions of dollars”.
“It is also the first publicly known successful asset freeze outside Ukraine in the enforcement of arbitration awards filed by Ukrainian companies against Russia for the expropriation of property in Crimea in 2014,” the group wrote in a release.
The Russian embassy in Finland said it had sent a note to Finland’s foreign ministry expressing “a strong protest” against the measures and calling for reconsideration.
“On October 29, we received a list from the Finnish Enforcement Authority of over 40 properties that had been seized,” the embassy wrote in a statement.
It said half of the confiscated properties were diplomatic properties, including residences of diplomats.
“Since they are used for official and representational purposes of the embassy, they are protected under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and Finnish legislation,” it said. DM