Several Russian aerospace firms feature on a newly-issued list of companies against which the US government is aiming new sanctions.

The firms include United Aircraft and United Engine Corporation, as well as Tupolev and Sukhoi, and the state technology company Rostec.

They are among more than 30 Russian defence- and intelligence-related organisations listed by the US State Department in relation to the new Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, signed by US president Donald Trump on 2 August.

Although the companies have substantial defence links they are also responsible for much of Russia's civil aircraft production.

The department says the legislation is a response to "malign behaviour" by Russia's government with regard to the unrest in eastern Ukraine and other activities.

Sanctions are intended to cover "significant transactions", it adds, although it acknowledges that it would need to examine each transaction on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it has an "adverse impact" on national security or foreign policy interests.

It notes that a transaction for "purely civilian" use, which does not involve entities in the intelligence sector, would include factors which "generally weigh heavily against" a conclusion that such a transaction would reach the sanctions threshold.

"It is not a sort of simple metric, but it does give us a wide range of factors that we would consider in looking at any individual case," said a senior State Department official during a briefing on the measures.

Sanctions could be imposed towards the end of January 2018.

Source: Cirium Dashboard