Don’t help Russia evade sanctions, Ukraine tells Hong Kong

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Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Hong Kong to prevent Russia from using the Asian financial hub to bypass Western sanctions during a visit to the city on Thursday.

The United States 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 such as 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.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong government told CNN on Friday that it “implements and strictly enforces” United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

While the UN General Assembly has passed resolutions condemning Russia’s