Senator Hassan Highlights Importance of U.S. Export Controls to Combating Russia’s War in Ukraine
WASHINGTON – Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today discussed how American technology is being used to fuel Russia’s war in Ukraine during a Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearing. The hearing is part of an ongoing inquiry by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into United States manufacturers’ compliance with technology sanctions imposed against Russia.
To watch Senator Hassan’s hearing questions, click here.
The hearing comes days after Senator Hassan met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials in Lviv, Ukraine as part of an official Congressional Delegation trip. Senator Hassan expressed her support for Ukraine and received an update from Ukraine’s leaders about the dire need for more aid from the United States.
“It is clear that with our help, Ukraine will win this war, and I want to be very clear about that. Without it, they will lose,” said Senator Hassan. “The Ukrainian people are clear-eyed about the challenges that they face, but they remain determined because they know that freedom is worth fighting for. And they are sacrificing their lives to fight for what we have and for what democracies around the world have. Authoritarians around the world are watching what we do – China, Iran, North Korea – and they are questioning whether democracies will support the Ukrainian people in this fight.”
“The Senate recently passed a national security supplemental funding bill with vital aid for Ukraine. Our colleagues in the House must now act to get aid to Ukraine across the finish line. It is the most important thing that we can do to stand up to Putin and help Ukraine win,” Senator Hassan continued. “At the same time, we have to take action to further degrade Russia’s military capabilities by improving the effectiveness of our sanctions and our export controls.”
Senator Hassan addressed the need for Congress to do more to ensure that American-made technology is not being used against Ukraine with Elina Ribakova, Director of the International Affairs Program and Vice President for Foreign Policy at the Kyiv School of Economics. Senator Hassan asked Ms. Ribakova, “Would imposing explicit multilateral export controls on the component parts of advanced manufacturing machinery – such as semiconductor manufacturing equipment – help stop Russia from avoiding U.S. export controls through partnerships with China?”
“We have indeed seen a pickup in machinery imports by Russia because they are preparing for a possible measure like that, because that allows them to isolate themselves for somewhat longer,” said Ms. Ribakova. “So yes, working multilaterally with our partners to block that, it is critical. It is sort of staying ahead of the game, staying ahead of Russia’s circumvention techniques.”
Next, Senator Hassan discussed Russian methods of avoiding oil sanctions with James Byrne, Director of the Open-Source Intelligence and Analysis Research Group at the Royal United Services Institute. Senator Hassan highlighted recent reporting that shows how ships evade oil sanctions and asked Mr. Byrne, “How would American enforcement efforts benefit from a dedicated system to track, identify, and interdict suspect vessels that disable or spoof their location?”
Mr. Byrne highlighted the need for Russia’s vessels to be visible and said that the United States and its partners should generate intelligence products with commercial and open-source data so that information can be shared with intelligence partners across the world.
“We have a bill, and I hope the Senate will take it up and pass it,” said Senator Hassan. “It’s called the Vessel Tracking for Sanctions Evasion Act, it’s a bipartisan bill that I introduced with Senator Lankford, and it would create a dedicated pilot program within the Department of Homeland Security to achieve these goals.”
Lastly, Senator Hassan discussed the role that organizations play in helping companies detect deception efforts, as Russia often purchases American technology through third parties. The result is that American manufacturers often do not know the final destination of their products. Senator Hassan asked Damien Spleeters, Deputy Director of Operations at Conflict Armament Research, “What are organizations such as yours doing to share information with technology makers, so that they can take appropriate steps to secure supply chains and ensure that critical technology doesn’t end up in the hands of adversarial nations?”
Mr. Spleeters highlighted the need for collaboration between organizations, manufacturers, and the government to identify the components being used, alert the manufacturers who produce them, and work with those manufacturers to see where there are vulnerabilities on their supply chain. “We have identified companies based in China that have been diverting components, millions of dollars of components, to sanctioned companies in Russia,” said Mr. Spleeters.
Senator Hassan has been part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the enforcement of sanctions against Russia. Last year, the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee advanced Senator Hassan’s Vessel Tracking for Sanctions Evasion Act, which would crack down on ships disabling and spoofing their transponder equipment to evade export controls and international sanctions. Senator Hassan has also pressed the Department of Defense on its apparent purchase of sanctioned Russian oil, and in 2022, a bipartisan bill that Senator Hassan introduced to sanction the purchase of Russian gold as part of ongoing efforts to stand up to Putin was signed into law.
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