MOSCOW, January 25 (RAPSI) – The General Court of the European Union has upheld the freezing of funds of Russian air defense systems manufacturer Almaz-Antey over the crisis in Ukraine, according to the court’s press release issued on Wednesday.

The Court held that the EU Council had acted proportionally “in deciding to freeze the funds of entities supporting, materially or financially, actions of the Russian Government which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the statement reads.

The Court found that Russia had supplied weapons to one of the parties of the conflict in Eastern Ukraine and therefore materially supported "actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine," according to the press release.

In the spring of 2014, the EU, the United States and Canada slapped the first sanctions on Russian companies, banks and politicians, freezing their bank accounts, denying them entry and refusing to buy Russian products. The move was linked to the conflict in Ukraine. In June 2015, the EU foreign ministers approved amendments to the EU decision on sectoral restrictions, thereby extending economic sanctions against Russia until January 31, 2016.  In 2016, the penalties were expanded and extended yet again.

The EU Council made Almaz-Antey subject to sanctions in July 2014 alleging that the company “manufactures anti-aircraft weaponry including surface-to-air missiles which it supplies to the Russian army.” According to the Council, Russia has been delivering heavy military assets to Eastern Ukraine, “contributing to the destabilisation of Ukraine”. “As a state-owned company, Almaz-Antey therefore contributes to the destabilisation of Ukraine,” the Council claimed.

Russian air defense systems manufacturer Almaz-Antey has turned to the Luxembourg-based Court seeking to have sanctions imposed on it annulled for the period 2015 to 2016.

“The Almaz-Antey legal department pointed out that the EU Council’s decision to place the company on the sanctions list violates EU law and standards because there is no reliable evidence or substantiation of the company’s involvement in the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine,” the company announced earlier.

Almaz-Antey was established in 2002 to design and produce air defense and radar equipment. In May 2015, it was renamed the Almaz-Antey Aerospace Defense Concern.