A10 EZ SU THE WASHINGTON POST.SATURDAY, MAY 7 , 2022
security assistance — a package
that the Pentagon’s top spokes-
man, John Kirby, said would like-
ly sustain U.S. support to Kyiv for
the next five months. The speed at
which the United States would be
able to ship weapons to Ukraine,
however, will also depend in part
on how swiftly and ably the U.S.
supplies are able to be replen-
ished by new production.
“For Ukraine to succeed in this
next phase of war, its internation-
al partners, including the U.S.,
must continue to demonstrate
our unity and our resolve to keep
the weapons and ammunition
flowing to Ukraine, without inter-
ruption,” Biden said in his state-
ment. “Congress should quickly
provide the requested funding to
strengthen Ukraine on the battle-
field and at the negotiating table.”BY JOHN HUDSONA strong international re-
sponse to the Russian invasion of
Ukraine is critical to deterring
China from embarking on territo-
rial conquests in Taiwan or the
South China Sea, said Japanese
Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi.
“China has been carefully ob-
serving the current situation of
Russia’s aggression against
Ukraine and they are paying par-
ticularly close attention to what
kind of reactions the internation-
al community has been taking,”
Kishi told The Post during an
interview in Washington on
Thursday.
The top Japanese defense offi-
cial, speaking through an inter-
preter, said the global response
will weigh heavily on Beijing and
its “actions in the Asian region
going forward.”
“If the international communi-
ty somehow allows or condones
Russia’s aggression against
Ukraine, it might send a wrong
message that such actions can be
tolerated in other parts of the
world, including the Indo-Pacific,”
Kishi said. “From that perspec-
tive, such actions of Russia cannot
be tolerated.”
Managing the rise of China is a
top priority for President Biden,
who will be visiting Asia later this
month. His administration is
poised to unveil a long-awaited
China strategy in a speech by Sec-
retary of State Antony Blinken in
the coming days. The address,
originally scheduled for Thurs-
day, was postponed after Blinken
tested positive for the coronavirus
on Wednesday.
Chinese military spending has
more than doubled over the past
decade, spurring fears that it will
expand its dominion over disput-
ed waters in the South China Sea
or the island of Taiwan, which
Beijing considers part of its terri-
tory and has threatened to retake
by force if necessary.
Tokyo, which has historically
shied away from conflicts outside
of Asia, has joined the United
States and the European Union in
imposing multiple rounds of
sanctions against Moscow over
the Ukraine conflict. It has frozen
Moscow’s access to tens of billions
of dollars’ worth of its currency
reserves held in the central bank
in Tokyo, cut off several Russian
banks from the global interbank
messaging system known as
SWIFT, and frozen the assets of
Russian officials and elites.
The Japanese Defense Ministry
has provided Ukraine with
drones, bulletproof vests and hu-
manitarian aid, and accepted
evacuees from Ukraine using
Japanese aircraft. In response,
Russia has permanently barred
entry to Japanese Prime Minister
Fumio Kishida and over 60 other
cabinet ministers, officials, jour-
nalists and scholars. This week,
the Russian Foreign Ministry ac-
cused Tokyo of launching an “un-
precedented anti-Russian cam-
paign” that has destroyed “good
neighborly ties” and damaged
“the Russian economy.”
Nevertheless, Kishi said Japan
“will continue as much support as
we can to Ukraine.” That message
was sent earlier this week by
Kishida, who warned during a
visit to Britain that “Ukraine may
be East Asia tomorrow.” Kishida
said that Japan plans to freeze the
assets of 140 additional Russian
individuals and Russian banks
and that it would stop exporting
advanced technology to Russia.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry
dismissed the comments by Kishi-
da, saying that Japan is hyping up
a potential Chinese threat to gain
public support to increase its de-
fense spending. When pressed
why Japan was noticeably absent
after the Russian annexation of
Crimea in 2014, Kishi said the
world “has changed since the an-
nexation.”
“During the last time, the re-
sponse of the international com-
munity was not as united as this
time,” he said. “The international
community carefully looked and
observed what happened then
and that helped us move faster
this time.”
That unity is not lost on Beijing,
but analysts say the lessons China
learns are far from certain. “China
is clearly watching the forceful
response from democratic coun-
tries, and they are likely surprised
by its strength and unity,” said
Jacob Stokes, a fellow at the Cen-
ter for a New American Security.
“At the same time, Beijing might
conclude that China’s larger role
in the global economy or Taiwan’s
unique political situation might
be enough to prompt a weaker
response. Kishida’s comments are
meant to disabuse Chinese lead-
ers of such notions.”Chinese officials say the two
disputes have little to do with each
other. “These are totally different
things. Ukraine is a sovereign
state, while Taiwan is an insepara-
ble part of China’s territory,” wrote
Chinese ambassador to the Unit-
ed States, Qin Gang, in a column
following the invasion. “We are
committed to peaceful reunifica-
tion, but we also retain all options
to curb ‘Taiwan independence.’”
U.S. officials have long feared
that the growing ties between
Russia and China could dampen
efforts to raise the economic and
military costs of the invasion of
Ukraine. But thus far, while Bei-
jing has continued doing business
with Moscow, it has not bailed out
Russia militarily or economically.
“For now we’re not seeing signifi-
cant support from China for Rus-
sia’s military actions,” Blinken
told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee last month.
Beyond China, Kishi noted that
North Korea and its streak of bal-
listic missile tests, at more than a
dozen this year, are prompting
discussions in Tokyo about devel-
oping the capability to strike en-
emy military installations with its
own fighter jets.
The possibility of Japanese
fighter jets entering the airspace
of an enemy country has worried
some of Tokyo’s neighbors, includ-
ing South Korea, given the Japa-
nese imperial past. Kishi would
not forecast the outcome of those
deliberations but said Japan must
consider “what we should do to
protect our people.”
U.S. officials are hoping for an
improvement in relations be-
tween Tokyo and Seoul, its two
most important East Asian allies,
following the election of a new
government in Seoul. South Ko-
rean President-elect Yoon Suk-ye-
ol has said he would like to im-
prove relations with Japan and
increase dialogue.
Kishi said he will “ensure close
communication with the new ad-
ministration of Korea so that we
can strengthen” the “trilateral co-
operation” between Japan, South
Korea and the United States. “I
hope that the new Present Yoon
will exercise his leadership
toward resolving the various
pending issues between Japan
and South Korea,” he said.Michelle Ye Hee Lee in Tokyo
contributed to this report.Top Japanese defense o∞cial says
confronting Russia will deter China
war in ukraineBY ANNABELLE TIMSIT
AND TIMOTHY BELLAThe $300 million superyacht
owned by Russian oligarch Su-
leyman Kerimov was seized
Thursday by Fijian authorities
on behalf of the United States as
part of the ongoing efforts to
sanction and punish Russia’s
elite in response to the invasion
of Ukraine.
On Friday, Italian financial
authorities said they have frozen
a $700 million megayacht that
has been linked in media reports
and by anti-Kremlin groups to
Russian President Vladimir Pu-
tin.
The Justice Department an-
nounced that Fiji executed a
seizure warrant on the Amadea,
a 348-foot-long luxury vessel
that authorities say was “subject
to forfeiture based on probable
cause of violations of U.S. law.”
Kerimov, one of Russia’s wealthi-
est individuals, who built his
fortune in gold mining and is a
political ally of President Vladi-
mir Putin’s, has been identified
by the U.S. Treasury Department
as an official of the government
of the Russian Federation and a
member of the Russian Federa-
tion Council.
Amadea was owned by Keri-
mov at the time of his sanction-
ing by the United States, Britain
and the European Union in early
March, authorities say in the
seizure warrant, and U.S. finan-
cial transactions were routed
through U.S. banking institu-
tions by him and associates of his
for maintenance of the vessel.
Kerimov is among the Russian
oligarchs who have been sanc-
tioned during Russia’s war in
Ukraine for profiting “from the
Russian government through
corruption and its malign activi-
ty around the globe,” according
to the Justice Department.
“Last month, I warned that the
department had its eyes on every
yacht purchased with dirty mon-
ey,” Deputy Attorney General
Lisa Monaco wrote in a state-
ment. “This yacht seizure should
tell every corrupt Russian oli-
garch that they cannot hide, not
even in the remotest part of the
world. We will use every means
of enforcing the sanctions im-
posed in response to Russia’s
unprovoked and unjustified war
in Ukraine.”
Attorney General Merrick
Garland echoed Monaco’s senti-
ments on Russian oligarchs, say-ing, “There is no hiding place for
the assets of individuals who
violate U.S. laws.”
“And there is no hiding place
for the assets of criminals who
enable the Russian regime,” he
said in a statement.
Nikita Sichov, a lawyer in
Cannes, France, whose firm rep-
resents Kerimov, did not im-
mediately respond to a request
for comment Thursday.
Feizal Haniff, a lawyer repre-
senting Millemarin Investments,
the company to which the luxury
ship is registered, did not im-
mediately respond to a request
for comment. Haniff has argued
in court in Fiji that Amadea’s
owner is not Kerimov but Eduard
Khudainatov, a former executive
at Rosneft, Russia’s state-owned
oil company, who is not under
sanction, according to CBS
News.
Putin allies have tried to find
safe waters for their superyachts
during the war. In March, the
French Finance Ministry an-
nounced it had seized the Amore
Vero, the $120 million, 281-foot-
long superyacht owned by the
Russian oligarch Igor Sechin.
Other yachts owned by Russian
oligarchs have been docked
around the world, and some have
been on the move to avoid being
detained or seized.
In announcing the freeze of
the yacht, known as the Schehe-
razade, on Friday, Italy’s finance
ministry said the vessel’s owner
had “prominent” links with Rus-
sians already under European
Union sanctions. The name of
the owner was not specified, and
Italy only said its government
had asked the E.U. to add the
person to its sanctions list.
The move comes after Italian
investigators had raced to inves-
tigate the vessel and prevent it
from leaving the Tuscan port of
Marina di Carrara, where the
yacht had been undergoing re-
pairs since before the war.
In March, an investigation by
the Italian daily La Stampa
named the boat’s owner as Khu-
dainatov.
Investigators working for
jailed Russian opposition politi-
cian Alexei Navalny say theyacht’s owner is Putin himself. In
March, Navalny’s team pub-
lished what it said was the crew
list of people who had worked on
the yacht. They purportedly in-
clude members of the Russian
state agency responsible for Pu-
tin’s personal protection.
Italy had earlier frozen a $
million megayacht connected to
Andrey Melnichenko, a coal and
fertilizer tycoon who is one of
Russia’s 10 richest people. Italy
has also frozen villas that oli-
garchs use as summer getaways.
As part of a $33 billion spend-
ing package unveiled last week
that would provide military and
humanitarian aid to Ukraine,
President Biden proposed liqui-
dating the seized assets of Rus-
sian oligarchs and donating the
proceeds to Ukraine. The presi-
dent’s proposal would require
broad new legal powers, but
Biden suggested that he saw a
powerful symbolism in the move.
“We’re going to seize their
yachts, their luxury homes and
other ill-begotten gains,” he said.
The White House did not re-
lease details of the proposal but
noted that it would improve the
government’s ability to send
seized funds to Ukraine. Under
current law, the United States
typically can only freeze — not
seize or liquidate — the assets of
sanctioned individuals.
Kerimov, 56, was listed by
Forbes as Russia’s richest man
two years ago, but his fortune has
shrunk since then. Nevertheless,
it remains considerable at about
$13 billion, according to Forbes.
Amadea, which was built in
2016 by the German shipyard
Lürssen, can accommodate 18
guests and 36 crew members,
according to Superyacht Fan, a
website tracking luxury yachts.
Kerimov was first put under
sanctions by the United States in- Britain and the E.U. fol-
lowed suit last month as part of a
global crackdown in response to
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The seizure of the superyacht
was coordinated through the
Justice Department’s Task Force
KleptoCapture, which is dedicat-
ed to enforcing the sweeping
sanctions, export controls, and
economic countermeasures im-
posed by the United States and
its allies, authorities say.
Greg Miller, Bryan Pietsch, Missy
Ryan, Jeff Stein, Matt Viser, Chico
Harlan and Spencer Woodman
contributed to this report.Oligarch’s $300 million yacht seizedSeparately, $700 million
vessel linked to Putin
frozen by Italian officialsoperate Javelin missiles, she said.
Javelins have been a bedrock of
the U.S. lethal aid to Ukraine
since 2018. Austin said he was
unfamiliar with such complaints.
The Pentagon has recently re-
started its training program for
Ukrainian forces, using sites out-
side the war zone to teach small
numbers of personnel how to
operate certain systems that the
United States is providing. Those
troops then return to Ukraine
and show their colleagues what
they’ve learned.and sustainment, told reporters
Friday that the Defense Depart-
ment has $300 million in con-
gressionally approved funding to
spend on commercially available
military equipment. Separately,
LaPlante said, the Pentagon is
negotiating with defense contrac-
tors to replace the thousands of
Stinger antiaircraft missiles and
Javelin anti-armor missiles al-
ready provided to Ukraine from
its stockpiles.
“We are in contact with indus-
try every day as our requirements
evolve,” LaPlante said, “and [the
Biden administration] will con-
tinue to utilize all available tools
to support Ukraine’s armed forces
in the face of Russian aggression.”
LaPlante’s announcement was
the first of two from the Pentagon
on Friday outlining additional
support for Ukraine as its forces
turn to defend against Russia’s
bid to seize more territory in the
country’s east. Officials said a
separate aid package — totaling
$150 million worth of artillery
rounds, counter-artillery radars,
electronic jamming equipment
and other gear — was designed
for needs unique to the fighting in
Donbas.
President Biden issued a state-
ment saying that, with this
tranche of weaponry taken from
U.S. stockpiles, the administra-
tion “has nearly exhausted” its
available funds to arm Ukraine
and implored Congress to ap-
prove his request for more money.
The hardware being purchased
from U.S. defense firms possess a
range of capabilities. The ad-
vanced precision kill system, for
instance, works by converting
low-cost ammunition into guided
weapons. U.S. forces have used it
to supplement the firepower in-
herent to a variety of aircraft,
including helicopters and fighter
jets.
The Switchblades, also called
“kamikaze drones,” require little
training to operate, defense offi-
cials say, and already have proven
effective against Russia’s more
advanced military. The Puma sur-
veillance drones are expected to
WEAPONS FROM A1 expand Ukraine’s intelligence-
gathering capabilities.
LaPlante said in an interview
Friday that these commercial de-
liveries complement the weapons
shipments that the Pentagon has
delivered from its existing stocks.
Officials received more than 300
responses from defense contrac-
tors after issuing a request last
month seeking information
about commercially available
weapons that might prove helpful
to Ukraine, LaPlante said.
As administration officials
consider which weapons to send,
they are evaluating not only
what’s available, but how much
can be provided without hinder-
ing U.S. national security, how
easy it will be for Ukrainian sol-
diers to learn how to use such
systems, and whether there are
any classified components that
could complicate exporting them,
LaPlante said. While many weap-
ons do have classified aspects,
some also come in readily export-
able versions, he added.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Aus-
tin told lawmakers earlier this
week that the Pentagon is “in
pretty good shape” when it comes
to supplying Ukraine with weap-
ons to beat back the Russian
invasion while still maintaining
minimum required stockpiles for
protecting the United States.
Some Republican senators ex-
pressed doubts about that.
“Our missile stockpiles are be-
ing stretched thin after years of
producing at a minimum rate of
sustainment and the increased
demand resulting from efforts to
bolster Ukrainian defenses,” Sen.
John Boozman (R-Ark.) told Aus-
tin, arguing that his contacts
within the defense industry were
worried about “the challenges
they face with trying to increase
production rates while shorten-
ing lead times.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alas-
ka) questioned whether Ukraini-
an troops were receiving suffi-
cient guidance on how to use the
weapons the United States is pro-
viding, citing letters from high-
ranking officials in Kyiv and re-
ports that their troops “are not
provided adequate training” to
Congress is weighing President
Biden’s request for $33 billion insupplemental support for
Ukraine, including $20 billion inPentagon details drones, rockets to be sent to Ukraine
SGT. MANUEL SERRANO/U.S. MARINE CORPSPFC. JESUS MENCHACA/U.S. ARMYABOVE: U.S. Marines launch
an unmanned aircraft during
training in California. R IGHT:
A soldier loads an advanced
precision kill weapon system
training round during an
exercise in Germany last year.