U.S.Sanctions Global Network Supporting Russia’s Military

The Biden Administration on Wednesday announced new sanctions against 22 individuals it says have helped Russia obtain weapons and evade sanctions imposed on the Kremlin and its allies in the last year, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

The sanctions target the network’s leader Igor Vladimirovich Zimenkov, an arms dealer based in Russia and Cyprus, as well as his son and several members of their network, for supplying Russia with 'high-technology devices,' the administration officials said.

The group has worked to supply a Russian company with high-technology devices for use in its war against Ukraine and supported previously sanctioned entities in Russia. They’ve been involved in multiple deals for Russian cybersecurity and helicopter sales and maintain close relationships with the Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport

The Zimenkov network has also reached as far as Singapore, Belarus, Bulgaria and Israel. The sanctions block access to all property and interests of the sanctioned individuals and entities owned or in possession of an American on U.S. soil.

"The United States, in coordination with our allies and partners, will continue to fully enforce our sanctions against Russia’s war machine and those that support its efforts," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "These actions will decrease Russia’s ability to wage war and weaken its military-industrial complex."

According to him, it has "become increasingly difficult" for Russia’s military-industrial complex to re-supply the Kremlin’s war machine, forcing it to rely on nefarious suppliers, such as Iran and the DPRK.

"By trying to use proxies to circumvent U.S. sanctions, Russia demonstrates that our sanctions are having an impact. Our work will continue," he noted.

Separately, on Tuesday, Ambassador James O’Brien, head of the State Department's Office of Sanctions Coordination, led an interagency discussion with leading companies and associations across the gold sector. The meeting focused on the importance of the gold industry’s robust implementation of Russia-focused sanctions and of applying broader due diligence standards, including to Russia-backed actors, such as the Wagner Group, around the globe, the Department said.

The U.S. "remains committed" to imposing economic consequences on Russia for its unprovoked war in Ukraine and destabilizing activities across Africa.

"The meeting also focused on the role gold plays in supporting other regimes of concern, including in Latin America and Africa, and illicit networks, as well as how the industry can mitigate the role of malign actors while also supporting economic development programs, with a focus on labor and human rights," the State Department said.

Alex Raufoglu

Washington D.C.