The United States imposed sanctions against two Russian citizens and three Russian legal entities for facilitating the transfer of weapons between Russia and North Korea (DPRK).
This was reported by the press service of the US Department of the Treasury after the decision of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The sanctions are aimed at stopping the exchange of weapons between Moscow and Pyongyang, which includes the transfer and testing of ballistic missiles from the DPRK for use by the occupying Russian army against Ukraine.
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US sanctions against Russians due to weapons from North Korea
— The United States will continue to take measures to bring to justice those who try to facilitate the supply of weapons and other materiel to Russia's war, — said Brian Nelson, Deputy Head of the US Treasury Department for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The owner of LLC Rafort Rafael Ghazaryan, the head of LLC Technology Alexey Budnev, as well as the companies Trans-Capital, Rafort and Technology.
According to the United States, Budnev facilitated the supply of military communications equipment to Russia, which likely originated in the DPRK and was intended to support the Russian military. Ghazaryan came under sanctions for providing material assistance, as well as goods or services to Ashot Mkrtichev, against whom sanctions had been imposed earlier.
Russia receives help from partners from the DPRK
In January, the United States, South Korea and Japan condemned the DPRK for arms trade with Russia and new missile tests.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Defense, since 2023, the DPRK has sent about 7 thousand containers with ammunition and other military equipment to Russia.
At the same time, Pyongyang’s supplies to Moscow are not one-sided. According to Seoul intelligence, the Russian Federation sent satellite-related technologies to the DPRK, since the DPRK launched its first spy satellite into orbit in November.
In April, UN observers found confirmation that Russia used North Korean missiles to attack Ukrainian territory. After Russian troops shelled Kharkov in January, debris from a North Korean Hwasong-11 ballistic missile was discovered.
