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08May22

State Department Actions to Promote Accountability and Impose Costs on the Russian Government for Putin's Aggression against Ukraine

The Department of State is taking additional actions to hold accountable those engaged in human rights abuses, to impose severe costs on the Government of the Russian Federation (GoR), and to degrade the Kremlin's ability to support Putin's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine and fund its war of aggression.

Visa Restrictions

Today, the Department of State is announcing a series of actions to promote individual accountability for human rights abuses, to include:

A new visa restriction policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that applies to Russian Federation military officials and Russia-backed or Russia-installed purported authorities who are believed to have been involved in human rights abuses, violations of international humanitarian law, or public corruption in Ukraine, including in the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic" or "Luhansk People's Republic." Family members of those who fall under the policy will also be ineligible for visas.

Action to impose visa restrictions on 2,596 members of the Russian Federation military and 13 Belarusian military officials pursuant to a policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act that applies to those who are believed to have supported, been actively complicit in, or been responsible for ordering or otherwise directing or authorizing actions that threaten or violate the sovereignty, territorial integrity, or political independence of Ukraine.

Designation of three Belarusian officials, Dzmitry Paulichenka, Yury Sivakov, and Viktar Sheiman, pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2022 for their involvement in a gross violation of human rights. Under this authority, immediate family members are also ineligible for entry to the United States, to include Viktar Sheiman's wife, Elena Sheiman, and his adult son, Sergei Sheiman.

Targeting Russia's Maritime Sector

The GoR leverages maritime shipping and other marine sector companies to advance its strategic aims, including by supporting the resupply of its troops and the continuation of its occupation of Crimea, and exploiting and exporting energy reserves. Today, the Department of State is designating eight Russian maritime-related companies. This includes the Russian Ministry of Defense's shipping company, Oboronlogistika OOO, which has been involved in Russia's illegal seizure and occupation of Crimea since 2014, as well as private Russian maritime shipping companies that transport weapons and other military equipment for the GoR. The Department of State also took action against vessels these maritime shipping companies have an interest in with the addition of 69 vessels to the Department of the Treasury's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The Department of State is also designating one maritime engineering company that works with the GoR and Russian state-owned entities. This action serves as a warning to private Russian companies that those who support Putin's war machine risk severe costs.

Entites Designated by the State Department

  • Oboronlogistika OOO is a Russian shipping company that operates within the Russian Ministry of Defense's military-construction complex. The main objectives of Oboronlogistika OOO are to guarantee the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense regarding transportation, storage, and production of military and special purpose goods. Oboronlogistika OOO is the Russian Ministry of Defense's sole provider of troop transport to certain regions of Russia. Oboronlogistika OOO is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy. Following Russia's illegal seizure of Crimea in 2014, the GoR issued a decree defining Oboronlogistika OOO as the sole provider of transportation services for the Russian Ministry of Defense for the delivery of cargo to Russian-occupied Crimea. Three vessels in which Oboronlogistika OOO has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • SC South LLC, a Russian maritime shipping company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. Additionally, SC South LLC is a subsidiary of Oboronlogistika OOO and SC South LLC delivers cargo for the Russian Ministry of Defense. Four vessels in which SC South LLC has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • Joint Stock Company Northern Shipping Company, a Russian maritime shipping company, performs services for Russia's Ministry of Defense, including according to orders from Russia's Ministry of Defense. Joint Stock Company Northern Shipping Company's vessels transport tanks and other military equipment for Russia's military, and the company participates in and supports Russian military exercises. Joint Stock Company Northern Shipping Company is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy and because it operates or has operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy. Twenty-seven vessels in which Joint Stock Company Northern Shipping Company has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • Transmorflot LLC, a Russian maritime shipping company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. Additionally, vessels owned and managed by Transmorflot LLC transport weapons for the GoR. Sixteen vessels in which Transmorflot LLC has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • M Leasing LLC, a Russian maritime shipping company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. Additionally, vessels owned by M Leasing LLC transport weapons for the GoR. Three vessels in which M Leasing LLC has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • Marine Trans Shipping LLC, a Russian maritime shipping company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. Additionally, vessels managed by Marine Trans Shipping LLC transport weapons for the GoR. One vessel in which Marine Trans Shipping LLC has an interest is blocked as a result of this action.

  • Nord Project LLC Transport Company, a Russian maritime shipping company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. Additionally, vessels owned and managed by Nord Project LLC Transport Company transport weapons for the GoR. Fifteen vessels in which Nord Project LLC Transport Company has an interest are blocked as a result of this action.

  • Obshchestvo S Ogranichennoi Otvetstvennostyu Fertoing ("OOO Fertoing"), a Russian maritime engineering company, is being designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 Section 1(a)(i) because it operates or has operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. OOO Fertoing performs a large amount of work in the fields of complex marine surveys, navigational, hydrographic and underwater technical support for the construction and operation of facilities for subsea production complexes, offshore, river, and pipeline transport for state-owned entities, and projects on the behalf of the GoR.

VESSELS IDENTIFIED AS BLOCKED PROPERTY

The three vessels in which Oboronlogistika OOO has an interest that are blocked as a result of this action are:

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small logoThis document has been published on 29May22 by the Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.