U.S. officials said Thursday that Washington plans to impose new sanctions against both Russia and China, including penalties against Moscow for its use of Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine.
The sanctions will also target some 170 Chinese entities for what the U.S. government considers illegal fishing in the Pacific. The officials told Reuters, the sanctions come amid concerns that China is over-fishing and using its fishing fleet to expand Beijing’s maritime influence.
Many of the sanctions are to be levied under the law passed in the U.S. in 2016 known as the Global Magnitsky Act. It authorizes the U.S. government to sanction foreign government officials worldwide who are considered human rights offenders. Washington can freeze their assets and ban them from entering the U.S.
The sanctions against Russia are expected to target a number of its defense industry entities involved in the receipt of Iranian drones.
In recent months, Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, knocking out huge portions of its power as winter temperatures continue to drop, using the drones it received from Iran.
The U.S. has condemned Iran for exporting its drones to Russia, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned Russia’s targeting the Ukrainian power grids as “barbaric.”
