US sanctions Chinese firm for providing satellite imagery over Ukraine to Russia's Wagner

The United States on Thursday sanctioned the Chinese company, Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute, among 16 other firms and eight individuals for its role during the ongoing war in Ukraine. The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in a statement, announced that the Chinese company also dubbed Spacety China, based out of Beijing and Luxembourg, helped Russia-based technology firm, Terra Tech, with technological support to counter the Ukrainian military's gains.

The Beijing-based firm provided synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images of locations in Ukraine, said OFAC, as it announced freezing the company's assets. 

To impede Putin’s ability to arm and equip his war machine: US Treasury

Spacety China has been supporting the Russian shadowy mercenary group Wagner PMC, whose fighters have been on the frontlines, fighting in the fierce battle in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. PMC Wagner is a Russian private military company led by Yevgeniy Prigozhin, a Russian Oligarch also known as Putin's chef. The US Treasury accused Wagner fighters of meddling and destabilizing the countries in Africa, and committing human rights abuses as well as allegedly extorting natural resources for Russia. The US designated Wagner as a transnational criminal organization.

Treasury's new sanctions target Russia's and its allies' infrastructure that supports battlefield operations in Ukraine, including producing weapons for Russian forces. The images generated from the Chinese firm's synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite helped Wagner to intensify their combat operations in Ukraine, said OFAC. With the sanctions in place, there cannot be any transfer, payment, or export of any property or interests to Russian-related entities from the United States. The Chinese company describes itself as a firm that "makes SAR imagery of every point on earth accessible and affordable." The US treasury also sanctioned state-owned enterprises China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, and the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

“As sanctions and export controls on Russia from our international coalition continue to bite, the Kremlin is desperately searching for arms and support – including through the brutal Wagner Group – to continue its unjust war against Ukraine,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen in a statement released by OFAC.

“Today’s expanded sanctions on Wagner, as well as new sanctions on their associates and other companies enabling the Russian military complex, will further impede Putin’s ability to arm and equip his war machine," he added.