The G-7 countries will announce a round of new sanctions specifically targeting entities working to circumvent previously announced sanctions against Russia on Friday, the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
This new sanctions package "focuses very, very intently and intentionally" on sanctions evasion, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said during a Thursday morning event with the Washington Post. She went on to describe the target of the incoming sanctions as "the war machine" and said they aren't "helping the Russian people or the Russian economy."
US HAS 'GROWING CONCERN' OVER CHINA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH RUSSIA
The Russians are “importing 1,000% more laptops, iPhones, [and] dishwashers from third countries, not because they need to work at home on their laptops," she added, "but so they can cannibalize this machinery to get the advanced chips that we have denied them so that they can make more rockets, etc.”
"The advanced technology that no country is now sending to Russia has essentially set them back a generation in terms of technological modernization, not just for their military, but for the economy as a whole," Nuland added. "So he's mortgaging the future of a whole generation of Russians for his imperial ambition."
The U.S. and Western allies have frequently placed sanctions against Kremlin leaders and people and entities looking to help them achieve their goals in Ukraine.
Additionally, the Western allies will put “other constraints on entities, Chinese-based or Chinese sub-entities in Europe, which we think are active in evading sanctions,” she said.
Over the last week, top U.S. officials have revealed that Beijing is considering providing "lethal aid" to Russia for its war in Ukraine, though they have all maintained that the U.S. doesn't have intelligence to prove the Chinese have already crossed this line. Many have begun sharing concerns about the growing relationship between Beijing and Moscow.
Beijing has often called for peace in attempts to appear as a neutral party regarding the war, though they have also often sided with Russia and against the West. But, Nuland warned that providing this type of aid to Russia would fundamentally change the U.S.-China dynamics.
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"What we are trying to do here is to ensure that the Chinese understand that this would be a complete step change, not only in how they are viewed globally and their claims of neutrality, but also in our relationship with China and that it matters hugely to us," she explained. "We've already made clear that we're prepared to sanction Chinese companies. We've done it already."
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin and referenced a future meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.