Russian missile-maker appealing EU sanctions

Russian missile-maker Almaz-Antey is appealing its inclusion on a list of Russian companies under sanctions because of Russian activity in Ukraine.

Sanctions imposed against the company last year by the European Union as punishment for Russia's annexation of Crimea and support for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine are unreasonable since no proof of its products being used in either action by Russian forces has been proved, it said.

"No proof has been presented by the European Council that (Almaz-Antey) is involved in destabilizing the situation in Ukraine," Almaz-Antey General Director Yan Novikov said in a news release.

"Without proving these allegations, the company's inclusion on the sanctions list is unreasonable and violates the basic rights guaranteed by the Charter of Fundamental rights of the European Union."

Novikov's remarks were published in The Moscow Times (. The newspaper quoted the company as saying that it had hired the German law firm Taylor Wessing to appeal the sanctions ruling to the European Union Court of Justice of the European Union in Luxembourg. The sanctions froze company assets in Western Europe and barred EU members from importing weapons or dual-use items made by Almaz-Antey.

Other Russian companies appealing EU sanctions are Rosneft, an oil company, state-owned banks Sberbank and VTB.