Australia slaps new sanctions on Russia, Belarus over Ukraine war

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) — Australia on Thursday announced fresh sanctions on dozens of entities and individuals over their alleged aid to Russia in its war on Ukraine.

Canberra imposed targeted sanctions on 35 entities in the Russian defense, technology, and energy sectors, Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement with Assistant Foreign Minister Tim Watts.

They said penalties were also imposed on 10 individuals, including senior Russian government officials and senior military staff from Belarus.

"This action has been taken in careful coordination with our international partners to have maximum impact on those individuals and entities who play a role in directly or indirectly supporting Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine," said Wong.

Australia included Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Andrey Belousov and Dmitry Chernyshenko in the sanctions list.

Also listed are Russian companies supplying advanced technology, electronics, and equipment to the Russian military, Russian entities involved in nuclear energy and Arctic resource extraction, and major Russian defense entities, including the country's largest producer of military helicopters and its CEO.

"We again call on Russia to immediately withdraw from Ukraine and for Belarus to stop supporting Russia's senseless war," said Wong.

So far, Canberra has imposed sanctions on over 1,100 Russian individuals and entities over their alleged support for the war in Ukraine.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid