Aiming at Russia's iconic arms firms, U.S. sanctions pack a punch
 

By Thomas Grove MOSCOW (Reuters) - U.S. sanctions on Russia's defense firms took aim at the most iconic names of Soviet and Russian ******ry, hitting their exports and punishing the makers of arms used by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Kalashnikov, which makes the machine guns used in conflicts from Afghanistan to Africa, and Almaz-Antey, one of Russia's highest profile firms that produced arms for Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, were among eight ******* makers named by the U.S. Treasury. The move could hit Russia's standing as the world's second largest arms exporter. AK-****** machine guns are ubiquitous across eastern Ukraine, where separatists are also armed with an array of rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles of the type produced by Russian firms.

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