AS RUSSIA’s military continues to pound Ukraine with missiles and other lethal weapons, Western nations have responded in part by targeting Russia’s defense industry with sanctions.
The latest round came on Tuesday, when the United States issued new sanctions on some arms makers and executives at the heart of what it dubbed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine.”
The company accounts for 95% of Russia’s production of machine guns, sniper rifles, pistols and other handheld firearms, and 98% of its handheld military machine guns, according to its website and most recent annual report. Its weapons include the AK-12 assault rifle, an updated version of the AK-47, some of which have been captured from Russian forces by Ukrainian soldiers. The Kalashnikov Concern also produces missiles that can be fired from aircraft or on land.
The Reuters findings come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that current Western sanctions against Russia “are not enough” as Russian troops make gains in their assault on Ukraine’s eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. The Russian invasion has killed thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, but the exact number is unknown. The United Nations human rights office said that as of Monday, 4,731 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began on Feb. 24, including more than 300 children, with another 5,900 civilians injured in the conflict.
On Tuesday, in conjunction with a meeting of leaders of the G7 nations in the German Alps, the Treasury Department released a new round of defense-related sanctions that included eight of the weapons firms and two of the executives on the list provided earlier by Reuters. PJSC Tupolev and another firm on Reuters’ list, JSC VNII Signal, have not been sanctioned by the EU or UK. JSC VNII Signal is a producer of mechanical and navigational systems that power Russian military tanks and some of the country’s most advanced missile systems.Executives at a host of Russian weapon companies, meanwhile, have largely escaped sanctions from Western authorities.
Sanctions on Russia’s arms companies and tycoons have been applied inconsistently by the Western allies. The United States and EU have sanctioned High Precision Systems, for example, while the UK has not. The United States has sanctioned KBM, but the EU and UK have not. Based in Verkhnyaya Salda, in central Russia, VSMPO-Avisma has subsidiaries with facilities in the United States, Switzerland and the UK, as well as sales and distribution staff in the United States, Europe and Asia, according to its website and annual reports. That’s no doubt a factor that has allowed the company to escape punishment, according to three sanctions and Russian defense experts who spoke with Reuters.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Russia accuses Kyiv of firing missiles at Belgorod, near Ukraine“Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down three Tochka-U cluster missiles launched by Ukrainian nationalists against Belgorod,” said Russia’s defense ministry spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, adding that “after the destruction of the Ukrainian mis- Read more👇
Read more »
Blasts kill three in Russian city near Ukraine border - BusinessWorld OnlineKYIV/KONSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine, — At least three people were killed and dozens of homes damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said on Sunday, as Kyiv acknowledged it could lose its last big bastion in eastern Ukraine to Kremlin forces.
Read more »
National Government outstanding debt - BusinessWorld OnlineBusinessWorld: The most trusted source of Philippine business news and analysis
Read more »
Agri policy needs more bottom-up planning to meet farmers’ needs, study concludes - BusinessWorld OnlineAGRICULTURE and fisheries planning needs to be more “bottom-up” to better meet the needs of farmers and fisherfolk, steering away from “top-down” programs imposed from above, especially those concerning rice, according to a study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
Read more »
Business sentiment for next 12 months worsens - BusinessWorld OnlineBusiness sentiment worsened for the next 12 months, with consumers less likely to spend amid rising oil and food prices, according to the Philippine central bank. READ:
Read more »
Shares to move sideways ahead of inflation data - BusinessWorld OnlineThe benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up by 9.92 points or 0.16% to close at 6,165.35 on Friday, while the broader all shares index improved by 3.89 points or 0.11% to 3,340.12. READ:
Read more »