THE US Commerce Department on Friday added 42 Chinese companies to a government export control list over their support for Moscow’s military and defense industrial base - support that includes the supply of U.S.-origin integrated circuits.

Another seven entities from Finland, Germany, India, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom were also added to the trade export control list.

The circuits include microelectronics that Russia uses for precision guidance systems in missiles and drones launched against civilian targets in Ukraine, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

“Today’s additions to the Entity List provide a clear message: if you supply the Russian defence sector with US-origin technology, we will find out, and we will take action,” Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in the statement.

China called the US action “economic coercion and unilateral bullying”.

“The United States should immediately correct its wrong practices and stop its unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies,” China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

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It has been 20 months since Russian invaded Ukraine. A Russian missile strike in a village in north-eastern Ukraine on Thursday killed at least 52 people in one of the most deadly attacks yet.

Companies are added the US Entity List when Washington deems them a threat to US national security or foreign policy. Suppliers must then be granted generally hard-to-get licenses before shipping goods to entities on the list. REUTERS