Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand announced sanctions Monday against Streit Group, an armoured vehicle manufacturer founded in Ontario by Russian Canadian Guerman Goutorov, for supplying equipment to the Russian National Guard fighting in Ukraine.
The measures freeze any Canadian assets held by the company and prohibit Canadians from dealing with it. Anand said in a statement that Streit Group "continues to feed Russia's war machine" amid President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"The sanctions announced today will reduce Russia's military capabilities in its war against Ukraine by disrupting and hindering Streit Group's capacity to supply military technology and equipment to Russia," the minister said.
Long record of allegations
Goutorov established Streit Group in Ontario after immigrating from the collapsing Soviet Union. He later built a major production plant in the United Arab Emirates. Since then, the company's armoured vehicles have appeared in multiple conflict zones.
Streit Group has been fined by the United States and repeatedly accused of sanctions violations by the United Nations. The Canadian action follows similar measures recently adopted by the European Union against both the company and Goutorov personally, alleging they were supplying Russia.
Since Russia's 2022 invasion, the company has been accused of continuing to work with Putin's military and affiliated firms despite widespread international sanctions. Ukraine has reported seizing a Streit Group armoured vehicle on the battlefield, while Russia's national guard has been photographed with new Streit Spartan vehicles.
Months after the invasion began, Streit opened a production facility in Uganda, whose government is aligned with the Kremlin.
Calls for broader action
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress welcomed the sanctions but criticized the government for not targeting Goutorov directly as the company's founder and chief executive.
"This points to the necessity for the government to dedicate more resources to investigating and enforcing export and sanctions law, and more broadly, to the necessity of a full trade embargo on Russia and the designation of Russia as a terrorist state," the organization said.
Streit Group did not respond to requests for comment.
Based on reporting by Global News.