New sanctions leveled on Russia’s weapons suppliers amid Zelensky visit to Washington

The U.S. will level new sanctions on 250 entities and people in Russia related to the country’s invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine, the State Department announced Tuesday, as Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky was visiting lawmakers.

The State Department said it will impose sanctions on over 100 entities and individuals that include “those engaged in sanctions evasion, further Russia’s ability to wage its war against Ukraine, and bolstering Russia’s future energy production and export capacity.”

The Treasury Department will sanction an additional 150 individuals and entities, which include “third-country actors who materially support” Russia’s war against Ukraine, along with those who target Russian military procurement networks and those who assist Russia in getting “machine tools, equipment and key inputs.”

“The Kremlin has steadily turned Russia into a wartime economy, but Putin’s war machine cannot survive on domestic production alone,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “Our sanctions today continue to tighten the vise on willing third-country suppliers and networks providing Russia the inputs it desperately needs to ramp up and sustain its military-industrial base.”

The sanctions make Russia the most sanctioned country in the world, The Associated Press reported, and a follow a series of other sanctions aimed at curbing Russia’s economy. The sanctions prevent such entities and individuals from accessing U.S. property and bank accounts or working with American businesses.

The latest round of sanctions targets a weapons procurement network led by Chinese national Hu Xiaoxun, his private Chinese-based defense company Jarvis HK Co. and a group of associates who help sell Chinese-made weapons to Russia. A group of Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Maldives-based firms are also targeted in the sanctions, The AP added.

The move comes against the backdrop of Zelensky’s visit to Capitol Hill in a plea for further aid from the U.S. as the package remains stalled in a divided Congress. He met with the Senate first, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Zelensky “made clear, and we all made clear that if we lost, Putin wins, and this will very, very dangerous for the United States.”

Zelensky met with House leadership and will meet with President Biden later on Tuesday at the White House.

The war is approaching nearly two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and some lawmakers are expressing hesitancy towards continued aid to the war-torn country.