The United States placed sanctions on a Chinese company after charges that it gave satellite images of Ukraine to the Russian mercenary organisation Wagner Group to assist in its military activities on Moscow's behalf.
Sixteen organisations, including the Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute, have restrictions imposed by the Treasury Department.
Spacety China is the name of the company, which has locations in Beijing and Luxembourg.
Wagner contributes tens of thousands of Russian soldiers to the Ukrainian conflict.
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced on Thursday that Spacety China had sent Terra Tech in Russia synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite images of regions in Ukraine.
The statement stated that the photos were taken "to facilitate Wagner combat operations in Ukraine." The Luxembourg branch of Spacety has also been placed on a government blacklist.
The listed entities may not receive any transfers, payments, or exports of property or interests located within the United States.
So far, China's response has been uncharacteristically subdued.
Despite being a close ally of Russia, China has made it clear that it wants to play no side in the situation in Ukraine. It has been under fire from the United States and its allies for not aggressively denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On its website, Spacety China describes itself as a "pioneer" in the field of commercial SAR technology and says that its goal is to "make SAR imaging of every point on earth accessible and inexpensive" for users all over the world.
With relatively modest antennas, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is a type of radar that can provide high-resolution images.
The CEO of the company, Yang Feng, is a member of the expert panel for China's Ministry of Science and Technology, according to the company website.
The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation are just a handful of the numerous collaborators listed on the website.
The United States placed sanctions on Spacety China in addition to fifteen other companies, eight people, and four aircraft that were thought to be a part of Wagner's global support network.
Two of the businesses charged with providing aircraft to transport personnel and equipment between central Africa, Libya, and Mali are Kratol Aviation, based in the United Arab Emirates, and Sewa Security Services, located in central Africa.
According to a recent White House estimate, Wagner's command in Ukraine is made up of about 50,000 soldiers. Their attempts to take control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut have been essential to Russia's war effort.
Vladimir Putin's close friend and confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin is in charge.
The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, cautioned that Putin's capacity to arm and equip his war machine will be "further hampered" by the additional and increased sanctions announced today against Wagner, his friends, and other businesses supporting the Russian military complex.