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How Companies Aided Russian Drones
The American President, together with Vice President Biden, announced fresh trade restrictions against 11 Chinese and 5 Russian corporations. Allegedly, a few of these businesses take involved in the supplyof drone parts for Russian military activities in Ukraine.
The Commerce Department, which is in charge of regulating export regulations, put a total of 28 businesses, including several German and Finnish corporations, to the trade blacklist. This move has made it challenging for American suppliers to send technology to these companies.
Several companies, including China’s Asia Pacific Links Limited and Russia‘s SMT-iLogic, were previously blacklisted for their alleged involvement in supplying critical components to Russia’s General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) for drone production.
In a joint investigation conducted with the Royal United Services Institute in London, a Russian media outlet, Reuters, and iStories, last year revealed the existence of a logistic trail spanning the globe, with its endpoint at an Orlan drone production line, specializing in special technology in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The investigation found that Hong Kong-based Asia Pacific Links Limited was one of the key suppliers for Russia’s drone program. The company, along with the importing company SMT iLogic, was the target of the initial phase of American sanctions in May.
Requests for responses from these businesses did not immediately receive a response.
The head of the Commerce Department’s export controls, Alan Estevez, said in a statement: “We will not hesitate to take swift and meaningful action against those who continue to supply and support Putin’s illegal and unethical war in Ukraine.”
According to the Commerce Department, six other Chinese entities were added to the blacklist, ostensibly for purchasing aerospace parts for Iran’s aircraft manufacturing company, which are used by Iran in the Middle East and by Russia in Ukraine for drone production.
The special technological center in St. Petersburg, Russia, once known for producing various surveillance instruments for the Russian government and now focused on drones for the military, was first targeted by American sanctions when former President Barack Obama said it had worked with the Russian military. The intelligence agency will attempt to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
The United States has aggressively employed a trade blacklist aimed at China’s technology sector and to deter Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, known as a coercive use of a business blacklist referred to as the Entity List.”