Moscow Court Refuses To Freeze Siemens Turbines In Crimea, Pending Suit

The Arbitration Court of Moscow has declined to place a freeze on gas turbines manufactured by the German firm Siemens that were transferred to the illegally annexed region of Crimea earlier this year.

The court on August 20 also agreed to begin hearing Siemens' suit on September 18.

Siemens claims the turbines were illegally transferred to Crimea in violation of European Union sanctions imposed against Russia following its illegal annexation of the Ukrainian region in 2014.

Siemens filed the suit on July 11, accusing the firm's Russian partners of shipping four gas turbines for generating electricity to Crimea after claiming they were to be installed at a plant in Taman.

The turbines were manufactured in Russia by a joint project of Siemens and the Russian firm Silovye Mashiny.

After it was revealed that the turbines had been shipped to Crimea, the EU introduced a new packet of sanctions targeting three Russian companies that worked with Siemens and three individuals, including Russian Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Cherezov.

With reporting by Dozhd TV