The European Union has decided to enhance the prohibition on the export of goods that have dual purposes to Russia, including electronic components and machine-building parts that can be utilized in Russian armaments, such as drones, missiles, and helicopters.

Moreover, it is not allowed to transport dual-purpose goods through Russia. Also, Russians are prohibited from having managerial positions in EU organizations that are related to critical infrastructure.

The list of people and entities under EU sanctions has been expanded. For such individuals, their assets in the EU will be frozen, they will be banned from working with them, and visa restrictions will be implemented.

Deputy heads of Roskomnadzor, including Oleg Terlyakov, Vadim Subbotin, Milos Wagner, and Vladimir Logunov, were imposed sanctions. Before this, the EU had already imposed sanctions on Roskomnadzor itself and its head, Andrey Lipov.

Deputy ministers of economic development also had sanctions imposed against them. Maxim Kolesnikov, who is in charge of Regulatory Regulation for the Digital Environment and Artificial Intelligence federal projects included in the national program Digital Economy, was included in the sanctions.

Sanctions were also imposed on deputy ministers of industry and trade. Vasily Shpak, who is in charge of microelectronics, is one of them. The head of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC), Vladimir Selin, was also listed in the sanctions.

Igor Ashmanov, the founder of Ashmanov and Partners and Kribrum, was subjected to sanctions. Igor Ashmanov is the husband of the head of Infowatch and co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, Natalya Kaspersky. EU documents indicate that in the 2018 presidential election, Ashmanov was a confidant of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and that he supports the military action in Ukraine and censorship in Russia.  

The EU has strengthened its ban on exporting dual-use goods to Russia, including electronic and machine-building components that can be utilized in Russian weaponry like drones, missiles, and helicopters.

Transiting dual-use goods through Russia is also prohibited. Moreover, Russians are barred from holding leadership positions in EU organizations connected to critical infrastructure.

The list of organizations under sanctions includes NPO Impulse, Concern Morinformsystems Agat, the Special Technology Center, and the Dubinsky Engineering Plant.

The EU has also extended the list of organizations banned from receiving dual-use goods, which was initially imposed on Russia in February 2022. The competent EU authorities may issue supply licenses to non-military organizations, but not to military organizations or organizations on a special EU list.

Megafon is among the companies banned from receiving dual-use goods. It is also subject to export restrictions by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The EU blacklist includes Rostec, KRET, Shvabe, Avtomatika, RT-Inform, and NPO High Precision Systems. The Skolkovo Foundation, Skoltech, the Russian Quantum Center, JV Kvant, Voentelekom, and the Communications Center of the Ministry of Defense are also under sanctions. The list also includes former subsidiaries of AFK Sistema, such as RTI holding and Kronstadt, Baikal Electronics, MCST, Rusbitech, Element JSC, microelectronic plant Angstrem, NM-Tech, Crocus nanoelectronics, the Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center, PKK Milandr, Pailon and IT Papillon developers of biometric systems, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), among others.

Export restrictions apply to the N.L. Dukhov All-Russian Research Institute of Automation  (VNIIA), the Center for Technological Competence in Radio Photonics, the Central Research Institute Cyclone, and the Novosibirsk Center for Research and Development in the Field of Microelectronics. NPO Electronic Systems, Elcomtech, Radioautomatics, Research Institutes Electronics, Submicron, Informacoustics, the Research Center for Electronic Computer Technologies, Research Institute Kulon, and Institute of High Current Electronics are also included. The Moscow Research Institute of Communications, Moscow Research Radio Engineering Institute, NPO Electromechanics, JSC Optron, Radiozavod, Pskov Plant of Remote Communication Components, the Research Institute of Communication and Control Systems, NPP Kant, Communication, and Radiosvyaz, among others, are also included on the list.

The U.S. State Department has recently announced the implementation of fresh sanctions against Russian officials, businessmen, and organizations, marking the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale military engagement in Ukraine. The U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) has released its own list of sanctions, while the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is also preparing a new list, with a draft published on the U.S. Federal Register website. The UK has also expanded its sanctions against Russian individuals, which include freezing their assets, prohibiting any connections with them, and banning their entry.

The BIS sanctions are less severe, stating that trading operations require a special license. Numerous Russian governors and ministers, including Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev, have been subject to State Department sanctions. Shadayev has also been sanctioned by the European Union and Canada. The Governor of the Yaroslavl region Mikhail Evraev, who served as the deputy head of the Ministry of Communications from late 2012 to mid-2018, was also placed under State Department sanctions.

The EU also imposed sanctions on ICS Holding and its owner Anton Cherepennikov, along with a number of its affiliated companies. These include Citadel, which is a group of developers for the System of Operational Investigative Activities (SORM), as well as its subsidiaries (MFI Soft, Garda Technologies, Malvin Systems, Osnova Lab, Signatek, ADM Systems, Tehargo, Bastion) and the computer equipment manufacturer KNS Group (Yadro trademark).

ICS Holding’s press service said that the holding’s long-term plans remain unchanged, and its strategy is based on the “development of the strongest domestic technology companies that complement each other in a complimentary way.”

Sergei Ovchinnikov, the owner of another SORM producer, Norsi-trans, was also under sanctions.

The Main Computing Center of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces was also under sanctions for allegedly controlling missile launches in Ukraine.

Igor Borisov, who is alleged by the State Department to have developed the Strelok and Strelok Pro programs used by the Russian armed forces to adjust artillery fire in the NVO zone, was also sanctioned.

Sanctions were also imposed against the following entities: RSK Technologies and RSK Labs operating in the field of electronics, their owners Andrey Moskovsky and Alexey Shmelev; Astrakom, a developer of professional radio communication systems; Antles, a developer of audio-video components; Novosibirsk Plant Electrosignal; Kazan Optomechanical Plant; Botlikh Plant of Radio Components; Moscow Research Radio Engineering Institute (MNIRTI); N.L. Dukhov All-Russian Research Institute of Automation. (VNIIA); All-Russian Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF); All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics (VNIITF); Federal Center for Dual-Use Technologies and its CEO Yuri Milekhin.

A number of financial institutions in Russia, including MTS Bank (a subsidiary of Mobile TeleSystems), were sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department. MTS-Bank also faces sanctions in the UK.  

The U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on a number of IT companies accused of collaborating with the General Staff’s Main Directorate (GRU). These companies include Forward Systems (allegedly working with the GRU through the 18th Central Research Institute) and Akita (allegedly providing services to the GRU’s telecommunications division).

Furthermore, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned the companies Inforus and Lavina Plus, as well as their owner Andrei Masalovich. These companies are accused of aiding the GRU with information operations and creating social media bots.

Additional sanctions were imposed on 0day Technologies (allegedly providing data on foreign citizens to Russian intelligence services) and Novilab Mobile (which is said to be developing a solution for monitoring mobile devices in collaboration with the previously-sanctioned company ACT).

The U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on a number of other entities, including server hardware developer Maxtech and its owners Anastasia Eshstrut and Maxim Safonov; Promtechexport, a company belonging to Eshstrut; system integrator Iteranet (importing high-tech equipment for a structure under U.S. sanctions); Vakuum.ru (part of the Malberg network of companies, which were previously sanctioned for supplying high-tech and microelectronic equipment to Russia); high-tech equipment distributor PSV Technologies and its owner Sergei Petrov (allegedly supplying equipment to law enforcement agencies); Tamimed and its owner Svetlana Moretti; JSC Russian High Technologies (believed to be working for Russian special services); electronic equipment developers OKB Spektr and Elara, as well as its CEO Andrey Uglov; the Central Research Institute of Economics, Informatics and Control Systems (TsNIIEISU); and Uvicom company.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has enforced export controls on firms whose technologies, including in the field of biometrics, are purportedly employed by Russian authorities in “suppressing Ukrainian resistance” in new regions of Russia. These companies include 3divi, Papillon, IT Papillon, and Alice.

The export restrictions prohibit U.S. firms from selling products or technologies to these companies without a special permit from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Electron Optonik, Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center, and Visionlabs have also been subjected to sanctions. They are charged with disseminating American technology against U.S. national interests. Visionlabs, which is currently owned by MTS, produces facial recognition systems but declined to comment.

MegaFon has also been subjected to export restrictions. The MegaFon press service said that they do not anticipate problems for their customers as a result of the sanctions, as they do not affect the provision of telecommunication services, including roaming. Nonetheless, the company does not comprehend the reasoning behind its inclusion in the sanctions and does not rule out the possibility of challenging the restrictions.

The Skolkovo Foundation, the Skolkovo Technopark, and the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) were also impacted by BIS restrictions.  

BIS controls also affected several Rostec state corporation entities, including RT-Inform and the Avtomatika Concern. However, the U.S. Treasury has already imposed sanctions on Rostec, its subsidiaries, and top executives.

The UK has also imposed sanctions on several high-ranking officials of Rostec, such as Vasily Brovko, who is responsible for developing roadmaps for digital technology, among other things. Rostec declined to comment on the matter.

BIS restrictions have also been placed on various organizations, including the Foundation for Advanced Studies, the Institute of Applied Mathematics named after M.V. Keldysh, the Institute of Electronic Control Machines named after I.S. Bruk (developer of Elbrus processors), the Technological Center Scientific and Technological Complex, the All-Russian Research Institute Radiotechnologies, the Electronics Design and Technology Center, the Soyuz Design Center, the Dynamics Center for Scientific and Technological Services, the All-Russian Research Institute Signal, the Research Institute of Microelectronic Equipment Progress, the Research Institute of Electronic Materials, the Ural Optical and Mechanical Plant, the Production Association Sever, the Penza Research Electrotechnical Institute, the Vologda Optics-Mechanical Plant, Svetlana Semiconductors, the All-Russian Research Institute of Radio Electronics, the Vympel Corporation, NPP Sapphire, NPP Digital Solutions, NPP Kontakt, NPP Girikond, the Special Design Bureau of Computer Technology, the Special Design Bureau of Control Means, the Special Design Bureau Tribuna, the Meteor Plant, and Reconnaissance Technologies, LLC.