The Biden administration this week slapped sanctions on several Russian companies supplying parts for warships involved in the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine and separately on a number of Iranian officials tied to violence directed against protestors.
On Thursday, the State Department identified six businesses considered part of Russia’s defense industrial base, including Rigel Battery Co., based in St. Petersburg, Russia, which manufactures critical nickel-metal hydride and silver zinc batteries and has supplied lithium batteries to the Russian navy for more than 15 years.
“This action imposes severe costs on Russia’s defense establishment in response to (President Vladimir) Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine,” the State Department said Thursday in a statement.