The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC) today imposed sanctions against three organizations and one individual for their participation in the development and production of the Russian long-range strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) series “Harpy”. This is stated in the report of the agency.

“Developed by experts from the People's Republic of China (PRC), the Harpy drone is produced at PRC factories in cooperation with Russian defense firms and then transferred to Russia for use against Ukraine. These private companies and individuals were involved in the development and production of military equipment for a Russian defense firm under U.S. sanctions for use by the Russian military in Ukraine,” OFAC said in a statement.

According to OFAC, the U.S.-registered Izhevsk Electromechanical Plant Kupol Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of the U.S.-registered Russian state-owned weapons company Almaz-Antey Air and Space Defense Concern JSC, coordinates the production of the Harpy series drones at factories in China before the weapons are transferred to Russia.