WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two Russian individuals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including providing ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.
This latest round of sanctions, announced by the Treasury and State departments, aims to disrupt and expose arms transfers between the two nations, according to a statement from the Treasury Department.
The statement highlighted the transfer and testing of North Korean-produced ballistic missiles in Russia.
Brian Nelson, the under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, emphasized the commitment to thwarting North Korea’s military collaboration with Russia. He stated, “The United States will continue to take action to hold accountable those who seek to facilitate the shipment of weapons and other materials to enable Russia’s war.”
The statement outlined increased military cooperation between Russia and North Korea over the past year, with Pyongyang supplying ballistic missiles and munitions to Russia while seeking military assistance in return.
The sanctioned individuals are Rafael Anatolyevich Gazaryan and Aleksey Budnev, and the companies are Trans Kapital Limited Liability Company, Rafort Limited Liability Company, and Tekhnologiya, OOO. The statement indicated that Rafort is owned by Gazaryan and Budnev is the sole owner of Tekhnologiya.
These sanctions entail blocking all US property and interests of those designated. They followed similar actions last year targeting Ashot Mkrtychev, a Slovakian national already under sanction, with Gazaryan likely serving as an intermediary between Mkrtychev and the Russian government.
Russia’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and efforts to reach the sanctioned firms and individuals were unsuccessful.
The announcement of these sanctions coincided with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping reaffirming their “strategic partnership” while criticizing the United States, particularly regarding North Korea.
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