US imposes sanctions on Chinese companies accused of helping make Russian attack drones

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against two Chinese companies accused of directly helping Russia build long-range attack drones used in the war in Ukraine.

It is the first time the U.S. has imposed penalties on Chinese makers of drone engines and parts for ''developing and producing complete weapons systems'' in collaboration with Russian companies, the department said.

The U.S. has previously accused China of providing material support to Russia's military-industrial base to sustain the Kremlin's war against Ukraine, and the latest round of sanctions seeks to target the ''direct activity'' between Beijing and Moscow, according to senior Biden administration officials, who discussed the sanctions on the condition of anonymity before the measures were announced.

Russia's Garpiya series long-range attack drone, ''designed and produced in the People's Republic of China in collaboration with Russian defense firms, has been used to destroy critical infrastructure and has resulted in mass casualties'' during the war in Ukraine, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington called the U.S. accusations false. It said China's trade with Russia is ''open and aboveboard" and in line with World Trade Organization rules and market principles.

''China always handles the export of military products in a prudent and responsible way, and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles, including drones for civilian use,'' said Liu Pengyu, the embassy spokesman.

China opposes ''illegal and unjustifiable unilateral sanctions and so-called long-arm jurisdiction by the U.S.," he said. Pointing out Washington's ongoing military aid to Ukraine, Liu said the U.S. has been ''extremely hypocritical and irresponsible.''

Beijing, however, has been an economic lifeline for an increasingly isolated Moscow. On Wednesday, the Chinese premier and Russian prime minister met on the sidelines of a regional gathering and agreed to boost cooperation.

The U.S. is imposing sanctions on Xiamen Limbach Aircraft Engine Co., which produces drone engines for the Garpiya series, and Redlepus Vector Industry, which has worked with a Russian company already facing sanctions to facilitate the shipment of the drones to Russia.

Redlepus also sends shipments of aircraft engines, parts of automatic data processing machines and electrical components to Russia, the Treasury Department said.

The Biden administration officials said China should have known that the already-penalized Russian company, named TSK Vektor, was a ''problematic actor.'' The U.S. imposed sanctions on TSK Vektor in December 2023 for helping Russia acquire attack drones.

The officials indicated that the two Chinese firms had been developing long-range attack drones with the Russians since the beginning of the year.