The U.S. Department of Justice announced charges on Oct. 19 against "nearly a dozen individuals and several corporate entities" for participating in unlawful schemes to export powerful, civil-military, dual-use technologies to Russia – some of which have been recovered on battlefields in Ukraine.
In cooperation with Latvian authorities, U.S. officials have also intercepted a piece of equipment originally manufactured in Connecticut, bound for Russia, that has applications “in nuclear proliferation and defense programs,” according to the Justice Department. Four individuals – three Latvians and one Ukrainian citizen who resided in Estonia – face several charges for allegedly conspiring to smuggle the item, a high-precision grinding machine, to individuals in Russia, the Justice Department said.