UPDATE 2-U.S. hits Chinese, Russian firms for aiding Russian military

(adds names of entities)

WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Friday added Chinese and Russian companies, including Russia’s No. 2 wireless operator, to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting the Russian military and its crackdown on Moscow on the first anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine has intensified.

The Commerce Ministry’s actions aim to “cut off Russia’s defense industrial base and military from even low-tech consumer goods that Russia is trying to procure to sustain the war effort,” it said.

The moves show President Joe Biden’s administration is expanding efforts to thwart the Russian military and is targeting companies worldwide to help Moscow bypass export restrictions and gain access to key technologies.

The US Commerce Department has added public joint stock company Megafon, Russia’s second-largest cellphone operator, to its corporate list for allegedly “acquiring and attempting to acquire” US technology to support the Russian military.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The blacklisted companies also include two Chinese satellite companies, Spacety Co Ltd and China HEAD Aerospace Technology Co, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Spacety Co, which was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in January, said at the time it complied with international sanctions against Russia and had no ties with the country after the restrictions were imposed.

The agency also imposed new export restrictions on Iran targeting Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones in Ukraine, and strengthened its existing sanctions on Russia and Belarus by expanding restrictions on oil and gas exploration.

Of the many new additions to its trade restrictions list, 79 are from Russia, five are listed under China, and two are based in Canada. Another three companies are based in France, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Companies on the list may not receive goods and technology of US origin.

China said on Friday the only sanctions that should be imposed on Russia should be approved by the UN Security Council – where the Russians have the power of veto – and that unilateral sanctions and pressure “only create new problems”. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Karen Freifeld; additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Alexandra Alper; editing by Caitlin Webber, Alexandra Alper and Tomasz Janowski)