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US adds 33 Russian officials linked to defense manufacturing to blacklist

There are currently 72 entries in the list

WASHINGTON, September 20. /TASS/. US has added another 33 Russian officials to its blacklist of individuals who fall under the anti-Russian sanctions, a high-rank spokesman for the Administration told reporters during a telephone briefing.

He said the officials were linked to the Russian defense manufacturing sector.

The spokesman said US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo had blacklisted the officials, who were acting in the interests of defense industries and intelligence services, under the terms of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act [CAATSA].

Now the so-called control list has 72 entries.

CAATSA’s clause 231, which stipulates the rules for forming the list, says any person taking part conscientiously in considerable transactions with any of the blacklisted individuals or organizations falls under US-imposed sanctions automatically.

In practice, this provision means CAATSA presupposed the application of US restrictive measures to third countries cooperating with Russia’s defense manufacturing sector and intelligence organizations.

Washington is not introducing any new sanctions against the blacklisted individuals or organizations, but many of them were targets of previous US restrictions.

The list of organizations linked to defense and related industries includes the private military company PMC Wagner, the Oboronlogistika group of companies that provides the services in defense and civilian logistics and transportation, and the Yuri Gagarin Aircraft Factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur in the Far East of Russia.

Washington has blacklisted the St Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, Concord Management & Consulting and Concord Catering companies as the entities is believes to be connected with Russia’s intelligence community.

The newly blacklisted individuals are Yevengy Prigozhin, Mikhail Bystrov, Mikhail Burchik, Alexandra Krylova, Anna Bogachova, Sergei Polozov, Maria Bovda, Robert Bovda, Jeikhun Aslanov, Vadim Podkopayev, Gleb Vasilchenko, Irina Koverzina, Vladimir Venkov, Viktor Netyshko, Boris Antonov, Dmitry Badin, Ivan Yermakov, Alexei Lukashev, Sergei Morgachov, Anatoly Kovalyov, Nikolai Kozachek, Pavel Yershov, Atryom Malyshev, Alexander Osadchuk, Alexei Potyomkin, Igor Korobov, and Sergei Gizunov.

President Trump signed CAATSA into law in the summer of 2017. It spelt out more supplementary restrictions against Russia, Iran and the DPRK.