MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax) - Russian space industry enterprises have been incurring losses due to sanctions that restrict their access to critical technologies, Roscosmos First Deputy General Director for Finance Maxim Ovchinnikov said.
"Naturally, the sanctions have had an impact, which, however, is indirect, instead of being direct, and manifests itself in the discipline of fulfilling government contracts. Given that our access to critical technologies and component parts is restricted, same as the access of design bureaus, we are obviously unable to fulfill our obligations to government clients in due time, and our enterprises incur additional losses from contracts fulfilled within five years instead of three," Ovchinnikov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 television channel (VGTRK).
"This has a negative effect on the enterprise's economy and the economy of the corporation in general," he said.
The Energia Rocket and Space Corporation said in February that the sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe might "limit international cooperation on a number of projects."
Some Russian space industry enterprises, among them the Samara-based Progress Rocket Space Center and the Central Research Institute for Machine Building (TsNIIMash), have been blacklisted by the United States.
Now, U.S. companies need to apply for special licenses to export, re-export, or deliver products to blacklisted companies.
Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin has called the sanctions imposed on Russia's space industry enterprises Progress and TsNIIMash unlawful.
Despite the U.S. sanctions, Russia is continuing to deliver RD-180 rockets for Atlas-V rockets of the U.S. company United Launch Alliance. Another U.S. company, Orbital ATK, is being supplied with RD-181 engines, which power Antares rockets that carry Cygnus resupply ships to the International Space Station.