US Sanctions Nearly 300 Entities Over Russia's War Supply Chain as Chemical Weapons Allegations Mount

On Wednesday, US officials announced a package of sanctions aimed at nearly 300 entities in Russia, China and several other countries. Washington says they feed Russia's war against Ukraine. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the measures would "further disrupt and degrade Russia's war efforts" by going after the country's military industrial base and the evasion networks that help supply it.

China was named for supplying what the US called critical inputs to Russia's military-industrial base. Other non-Russian entities in the package are located in Azerbaijan, Belgium, Slovakia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. A Treasury statement said dozens of the targets enable Russia to acquire desperately needed technology and equipment from abroad.

The State Department added to the list. It blacklisted further individuals and companies in Russia's energy, mining and metals sectors. It also named individuals connected to the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Siberian prison in February.

The same day, the State Department accused Russia of violating the international chemical weapons ban. It said Russian forces have used the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops, and have used riot control chemicals as a method of warfare. It described the use of such chemicals as probably driven by a desire to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions and gain tactical ground, and said it was not an isolated incident. It tied the practice to the same playbook as the poisoning of Navalny in 2020 and of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in 2018 with the novichok nerve agent. Separately, the Ukrainian military alleges Russian forces have used grenades loaded with CS and CN gases.

The sanctions reach into this area too. The US said it is penalising Russian state entities and companies linked to Moscow's chemical and biological weapons programmes, including a specialised military unit that facilitated the use of chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops. The State Department is delivering its findings to Congress and is expected to pass them to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, whose rules Russia and other members must follow.

On the ground, five civilians were killed on Wednesday in Russian attacks on the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, according to local officials. In Kharkiv, bordering Russia, a guided bomb struck a car and killed a 38-year-old woman and her father. Near Kupiansk, shelling in the village of Lelyukivka killed a 67-year-old woman. In Girnyk, a small town in Donetsk about 15km from the frontline, a 57-year-old woman and a 64-year-old man were killed and six people were injured, said Vadym Filashkin, head of the regional military administration.

Filashkin also described conditions in Chasiv Yar, which had a prewar population of 12,500. He said 682 residents remain there in very difficult conditions, without running water or power. Months of Russian artillery fire have devastated the city, which has become Russia's next major target. It sits on elevated ground that could serve as a gateway to Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Ukrainian defenders say they are still waiting for fresh ammunition.

Late Wednesday, a missile hit a sorting depot of the postal and courier company Nova Poshta in Odesa. The company reported no casualties among its employees, but Odesa governor Oleh Kiper said at least 13 people were injured and that the strike set off a large fire.

The next steps to watch are how Congress and the OPCW respond to the chemical weapons findings, and whether further sanctions follow.