Don’t Help Russia Evade Sanctions, Ukraine Tells Hong Kong

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using the Asian financial hub to bypass Western sanctions during a recent visit to the city, Nectar Gan, Maria Kostenko, and Chris Lau reported for CNN.

Kuleba “called on the Hong Kong administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine." I Photo: Dmytro Kuleba X

The US and European Union have sanctioned dozens of companies in Hong Kong and mainland China for evading the extensive measures imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, including the supply of critical dual-use goods like semiconductors.

Kuleba “called on the Hong Kong administration to take measures to prevent Russia and Russian companies from using Hong Kong to circumvent the restrictive measures imposed for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” according to a statement from Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued after the minister met with Hong Kong leader John Lee.

“These restrictive measures are necessary to weaken Russia’s capacity to wage war and kill people in Ukraine,” it added.

“The Minister stressed that Russia’s machinations should not spoil Hong Kong’s reputation as a highly developed liberal economy based on unwavering respect for the rule of law.”

Dual-use items are goods, software, or technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications. The US has said that some of the dual-use items targeted by its sanctions are critical to Russia’s defense-industrial base.s