New U.S. Sanctions May Target Russian Defense Ministry

On Tuesday, the U.S. secretary of state announced sanctions on three Russian companies – Aviazapchast, Elecon Joint Stock Company, and Elecon Group. According to the official document, no department or agency of the U.S. government can enter into a contract for the procurement of goods, technologies, or services from these companies.

The U.S. may include Russia’s Ministry of Defense and a Kremlin-affiliated a company in its new sanctions list, according to a draft of the document. The draft also reportedly lists defense contractors linked to the Ministry of Defense.

The document, which has been seen by Sputnik, also includes 28 Russian organizations working in the aviation, space, rocketry, and nuclear spheres, imposing sanctions on Rosatom’s leading nuclear weapons research centers, a research institute of Roscosmos, and a manufacturer of space rocket technology.

The new list follows another document from the Trump administration that identified 89 Chinese firms as having ties to the military, and thus restricted those companies from buying a range of U.S.-made technologies.

Earlier this week, the U.S. secretary of state banned American companies from having any ties with three Russian firms – Aviazapchast, Elecon Joint Stock Company, and Elecon Group – without providing motivation for its decision to impose the sanctions.